Police Minister Bheki Cele sat in court along with the police s top brass.
Modack s supporters stood outside the court and called out to him as he left.
As an armoured vehicle whisked businessman and philanthropist Nafiz Modack away from the Cape Town Magistrate s Court on Monday, some of his supporters called out: We love you Nafiz!
Modack is known as someone who provides meals for impoverished families in some Cape Town suburbs.
He appeared in the dock along with his co-accused, Jacques Cronje and Ricardo Morgan, while police officers lined the walls of the courtroom, bearing rifles and wearing bullet-proof vests.
Modack in dock over alleged murder plot, kidnapping, extortion as Cele looks on
By Sisonke Mlamla
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Cape Town – The case against the alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack and two co-accused, Jacques Cronje and Ricardo Morgan, who were arrested last week, has been postponed until Friday.
They appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate s Court on Monday morning with heavily armed police officers and officials in attendance.
Modack, Cronje and Morgan spent the weekend behind bars after they were arrested on Thursday, following investigations by the Hawks national task team, a special task force, the Anti-Gang Unit, Vehicle Safeguarding Unit, and Crime Scene Management.
Cele hails police at first court appearance of Cape Town gang boss Nafiz Modack Updated
Nokukhanya N Mntambo
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Modack was arrested last week alongside Ricardo Morgan and Jacques Cronje on charges of attempted murder, extortion, kidnapping and intimidation.
Some of the charges relate to an attempted hit on Cape Town lawyer William Booth outside his home.
“These arrests are only the beginning of police efforts to take down organised crime in the province. Clamping down such criminal syndicates remains an ongoing exercise and such arrests show that police are up to the task,” Cele told journalists outside the court house.
The arrest of alleged Cape Town gang leader Nafiz Modack and several other high profile figures believed to be central to the City’s underworld has resonated strongly with Police Minister Bheki Cele, whose appearance at the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Monday demonstrated a continued interest in efforts to root out sinister crimes connected to the group.
Not for the first time in recent months, Cele has stamped his presence on cases relating to extortion, kidnapping, and attempted murder in Cape Town, all of which have been levelled against Modack and his co-accused on Monday.
Modack charged with host of gang-related crimes
Cape Town businessman and alleged underworld leader Nafiz Modack appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday 3 May and was charged along with several others of a range of crimes relating to the attempted murder of prominent Cape Town attorney William Booth, as well as a host of extortion and kidnapping related charges.
Modack was charged alongside Jacques Cronje and Ricardo Morgan, who were also arrested after a dramatic high-speed car chase on Friday. The cases were all postponed until Friday 7 May, with the accused remanded in custody until then.
Interest in Modack’s appearance has travelled right to the top of South Africa’s law enforcement hierarchies, with Police Minister Bheki Cele in attendance along with acting provincial Police Commissioner Major General Thembisile Patekile and Major General Jeremy Vearey.