During the early hours of 18 August 2017 a gunman fired five bullets into Brian Wainstein who was asleep in his bed in his Constantia home along with his girlfriend and child, who were unharmed during his assassination.
Wainstein, who was originally from Ireland, had been linked to several figures with suspected ties to Cape Town’s underworld, so his murder stirred up tensions in these circles.
He had a history of confirmed and alleged crime – in 2007 The Irish Times reported that he had illegally distributed bodybuilding steroids worldwide from Dublin and was sentenced to four months in jail.
At the time of his assassination, Wainstein was wanted in the US on drug and steroid related charges.
Court grants bail to prominent Cape Town underworld figures Updated
Nokukhanya N Mntambo
Share this:
The Hawks have made a major breakthrough in their investigations into extortion, dealing in drugs, fraud, corruption and money laundering in the Cape Town underworld.
Gavel on wooden table / iStock
This comes after the arrest of three prominent underground figures in Cape Town.
Mark Lifman (53), Jerome Booysen (56) and 66-year-old William Stevens appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following their arrest earlier in the day.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the arrests are a victory for crime-fighting efforts.
All three men were granted bail of R100 000 each.
Bheki Cel only the beginning .
The three men appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate s Court.
Cele says the police are investigating claims of extortion, drug dealing, fraud, corruption and money laundering
involving Cape Town s underworld.
Police Minister General Bheki Cele has welcomed the arrest of three suspected underworld figures who are allegedly linked to an ongoing extortion racket involving businesses in Cape Town.
Mark Lifman, Jerome Booysen and William Steven appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate s Court on Tuesday on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering.
It s alleged they were involved in the murder of so-called Steroid King, Brian Wainstein, three years ago.
Three alleged underworld figures, Mark Lifman (53), Jerome Booysen (56) and William Stevens (66), were released on R100 000 bail each, following their arrest by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) on Tuesday morning.
The arrest followed several investigations into the underworld figures who are providing security for night clubs in Cape Town.
The three, who appeared before the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon, are accused of forcing night clubs in the Mother City to use their security services or face shutdown if they used those of their competitors.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale said: “The trio was arrested in one of the phases of an ongoing investigation into extortion, dealing in drugs, fraud, corruption and money laundering activities of the Cape Town underworld organised crime.”