An alleged gang leader has been charged alongside Nafiz Modack for the attempted hit on lawyer William Booth.
Moegamat Toufiek Brown, alias “Bubbles”, was arrested on Thursday by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court.
According to Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, Bubbles, 35, is the leader of the Terrible West Siders (TWS) and faces charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm, ammunition and gang-related charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).
It is alleged Bubbles acted as the middleman in orchestrating the attempted assassination of Booth on April 9, 2020.
Alleged underworld kingpin, Modack and Zane Kilian, arrested for the murder plot against top cop Charl Kinnear who was gunned down in September 2020, are on trial and face charges for the attempted murder of Booth.
Bubbles will be added to the charge sheet, reports IOL.
The matter is back in court today for Bubbles to bring legal representation on record.
Three others have been convicted and sentenced for their role in the same crime.
Bubbles’ wife Kauthar Brown, as well as Ebrahim Deare and Riyaad Gasant pleaded guilty and were sentenced in April 2021.
All charges were withdrawn against the fourth accused, Kim Smith.
At the time, Bubbles was in prison.
In their plea and sentencing agreement, the trio admitted to being members of the TWS gang, which operates in the Woodstock area.
The trio revealed that the leader of the TWS, who is in prison, instructed Deare and Gasant via Kauthar to arrange a hit on Booth at his Higgovale home.
Deare was set to be the hitman, while Kauthar provided the address and getaway vehicle to a state witness who was instructed to drop Deare and Gasant close to Booth’s home and pick them up after the deed was done.
On April 6, the pair scouted the area, but went to the wrong address. On April 7, the two went back but Deare who had been smoking mandrax, fell into a hole, injuring his leg.
On April 8, the duo went again, but nothing happened.
The imprisoned gang leader contacted the duo that night as he had been growing impatient.
They were instructed to carry out the murder the next day, April 9.
It was Deare who fired five shots at Booth in his garage. They then went to Kauthar’s house, where she paid them for the hit on Booth.