A Durban cop who brazenly testified about colluding with alleged underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, amid extortion charges has been fired, but says he will appeal the decision.
The testimony of Warrant Officer Kelvin Shunmugan at the Western Cape High Court sent tongues wagging earlier this year when he was called to testify about an arrest of a State witness who claimed he was being extorted by Modack’s “Hells Angels”.
The witness, Mr C, was linked to attorney William Booth and claimed that Durban businessman, Shanil Maharaj, had hired Modack to recover over R500 000 from him following a failed investment deal.
Maharaj argued in court that he believed the recovery was a “legal collection”.
However, the plot thickened when the State revealed that Modack's co-accused, Jacques Cronje, had extorted the money from Mr C, and threatened to kill him and his family, placing a bounty of R300 000 on their heads.
According to Maharaj, Modack facilitated his introduction to Shunmugan to pursue a criminal case against Mr C.
Shunmugan's testimony took a shocking turn when he admitted to being impressed by Modack’s bodyguards and showed eagerness to meet Modack’s affiliate, Anwar Gallie.
Shunmugan told the court: "In Durban, we follow on Facebook what is happening in Cape Town. He [Modack] was a small guy taking on the giants and was the Robin Hood of Cape Town."
The officer admitted to hearing Gallie refer to Modack as “Pablo“ during video calls, a nod to notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar.
Gallie, also known as “Gustavo”, had been arrested with Modack years earlier on gun-related charges.
Though Shunmugan maintained he did not meet Modack in person, he confirmed contact via cellphone. He admitted to tracing Mr C, but could not justify why Mr C could not be detained following his arrest.
Judge Robert Henney labelled his actions as unlawful and said he believed the cop appeared to be seeking favour with Modack.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshuinda, yesterday confirmed Shunmugan's dismissal for bringing the State into disrepute.
Shunmugan told the Daily Voice that he plans to appeal the decision, as he believed that Judge Henney's comments were unfair.
He maintained he only passed a case number to police colleagues in Cape Town and denies any connections with Modack.
He says: "I was dismissed on 14 August and I will appeal. I believe the judges comments were unfair as I was merely passing on a case number to Saps in Cape Town.“
Furthermore, he claimed to be unaware of Modack's involvement in the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear.
Shunmugan also said he was oblivious to Maharaj’s false criminal case against the State witness and noted that Maharaj later apologised for his actions.
He adds: “I didn't know Maharaj apologized for making a fake case and I didn't know Modack was charged for murder of a cop or whether he was busy in drugs or if he was a gangster."