Alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack’s defense team will bring their acquittal applications in the new year.
This after Judge Robert Henney on Monday granted an extension after his lawyers said that a week was not enough time to prepare the arguments due to the mammoth nature of the case. The case was postponed to 21 January.
Just over a week ago the State closed its case after a whopping 107 days of presenting evidence.
Modack along with Zane Kilian, Ziyaad Poole, Moegamat Toufeek Brown, Riyaat Gesant, Faghmeed Kelly, Mario Pietersen, Jacques Cronje, Petrus Visser, Janick Adonis, Amaal Jantjies, Ashley Tabisher, Yaseen Modack, Adiel Mukadam and Ricardo Morgan went on trial on 29 January this year.
The group was slapped with 124 charges centred on various incidents, including the murder Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear, the murder of Nicholaas Heerschap and the botched hits on top criminal attorney William Booth.
The charges ranged from murder to money laundering, as the State exposed the web
weaved allegedly by Modack and his co-conspirators behind various murder plots.
During the dramatic trial, State witnesses dropped several bombshells as they unearthed the links between Modack and the Terrible West Siders gang as well as the extraordinary lengths the investigative team took to uncover the truth behind the high profile hits.
The trial has run for a total of 107 days over four court terms and seen about 40 state
witnesses take to the stand.
The courtroom has also been the backdrop of fights between the accused as alleged gang members could be seen exchanging bekskote as new evidence came to light.
During proceedings yesterday Henney informed the court that he had been approached by Modack's lawyer, Advocate Bash Sibda, saying more time was needed in terms of an Section 174 application for discharge.
He added: “I actually reluctantly agreed to it. And given the gravity of the charges against his client because most of the charges implicates or most of the charges has a bearing on his client, I thought would be reasonable to grant him a further indulgence until the end of this term.”