Police are chipping away at the empire of an alleged Cape Flats drug-
lord who is believed to have earned a whopping R53 million in drug sales for the year.
Last week, police, the Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) swooped on Fadwaan “Vet” Murphy’s properties, seizing assets worth R1.7m. Authorities stormed properties in Lentegeur in Mitchells Plain, Athlone, Grassy Park and Worcester early on Friday morning to enact a restraint order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).
The AFU attached 24 vehicles, including luxury cars, as well as boats,
several properties and a superbike all worth R1.7m, while Murphy’s bank accounts were also frozen.
According to police sources, more assets will be attached soon, with a total value of R9.7m.
Murphy, 43, first made headlines when he revealed he was an hermaphrodite, and owned both male and female identity books, although he preferred to live as a male.
According to police, Murphy is the “self-proclaimed leader” of the Dixie Boys gang in Lentegeur.
He has denied all allegations against him.
Murphy, his ex-wife Shafieka, 49, his sister Glenda Bird, 46, Dominique Davidson, Leon Paulsen, 52, and his company, Ulterior Trading Solutions, are facing 239 charges including racketeering, dealing in drugs and money laundering.
It is alleged Murphy used his company to make payments to his “drug handlers”.
The matter is pending trial in the Khayelitsha Regional Court.
Cops made a breakthrough on September 18 last year when they raided a property in Grassy Park owned by Davidson, acting on a tip-off that firearms were being stored there.
Instead they found an alleged drug warehouse where tik and heroin were being packed and sealed for distribution.
Investigators arrested Shafieka and two self-confessed drug packers during the raid. Charges against the “packers” were dropped when they provided police with statements.
A total of R1.1m, plastic wrap,
7 985 packets of tik, tik lollies, sealing machines and 10 400 units of heroin were confiscated.
AFU investigator Ricardo Rhoda said in an affidavit, one of the packers told him she had begun working for Murphy two years ago and would be brought to his sister’s house for “work”.
The two women would be tasked with cutting, weighing, packing and sealing tik in exchange for R200 a day.
They packed 12kg tik a week.
The pair were also required to work from Davidson’s Grassy Park home.
Murphy would pay his “staff” through his business - Ulterior Trading Solutions, said Rhoda.
Shafieka allegedly sold drugs in Worcester, where she lives with her new husband.
According to Rhoda, Murphy also employed a man known only as Graham, who acted as a “tester”. His job was to smoke tik to ascertain its quality.
Murphy also allegedly made use of a network of “money houses”.
Investigators found a safe holding more than R338 000 when they raided Paulsen’s home.
Different role players allegedly dropped money off every hour.
At the end of the week, the cash was packed in black sports bags and allegedly delivered to Murphy’s home.
Hanif Loonat, Cluster chairman of the Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum, says the asset seizure was a victory for police: “It is important that we make use of the available avenues in bringing to book those who contribute to crime, especially drugs and gangsterism.
“Here we have applied an act [Poca] and have been successful in attaching assets to the value of R53m. Now we await for the outcome on the case.”
Murphy is out on R20 000 bail, and lives at his home in Turksvy Street, Lentegeur.