Alleged kingpin Nafiz Modack told the court he’s been starving in jail after officials allegedly refuse to serve him halaal kos.
Modack and his co-accused Jacques Cronjé appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court in Joburg on Monday on charges of intimidation and extortion.
They allegedly extorted The Grand strip club in Rivonia Johannesburg.
The two face similar charges in Cape Town.
Modack, Cronjé, Colin Booysen, the brother of alleged Sexy Boys gang leader Jerome “Donkie” Booysen Ashley Fields and Carl Lakay are facing nine charges for allegedly extorting the Grand Café Africa & Beach and intimidating the complainants.
On Monday Modack and Cronjé arrived in the dock with their hands and feet chained, under the watchful eyes of the heavily armed Tactical Response Team (TRT).
Modack’s lawyer, Johannes Eksteen, told the court that prison officials have refused to allow his client’s family to bring him halaal food.
Modack, who is Muslim, was allegedly told to eat tronk kos, a situation which Eksteen said was “inhumane”.
Magistrate Gideon Schnetler told him to take the matter up with prison officials.
Police say Modack and Cronjé are part of a syndicate that intimidates club owners into accepting protection from their security firm.
According to the affidavit by the Grand Café Africa & Beach manager, the two threatened to burn his establishment down if he doesn’t pay them.
It is alleged Modack and his co-accused are responsible for trying to take over the security of nightclubs from an existing syndicate, allegedly run by Mark Lifman Donkie and Andre Naudé.
Judgment in the bail application will be handed down on 28 February.