Alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack has accused high-ranking police officials of colluding with his slain rival Mark Lifman to carry out a hit on him.
Taking the stand for a second day in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday, Modack claimed he also knew slain Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie would be killed as he was warned by a friend who claimed he was close to top cops.
This comes amid the testimony by his former friend, Mohamed Hanware, who testified as a State witness.
Hanware testified via an online meeting from the Middle East and was first named in the mammoth underworld trial early last year.
The contention between the two former friends relates to claims by Modack that he paid Hanware R40 000 to bribe slain AGU detective Charl Kinnear and former cop Chesron De Vries to get his firearms back.
De Vries denied this during his testimony saying he obtained atchar from Hanware after visiting his home with Kinnear to obtain information about a high-profile kidnapping.
Bank records shown in court by the Hawks revealed that Modack had paid his friend over R500 000 in an alleged attempt to corrupt former detectives head Major-General Jeremy Vearey.
However, Hanware claimed that Modack owed him R1.3 million and said he conned Modack into believing the money went to Vearey.
In his testimony on Thursday, Modack claimed after the disagreements between himself and Lifman, he was informed that cops had planned to take a hit out on him.
He further alleged that in his own investigations, he allegedly established that Lifman had instructed Vearey to carry out the hit.
Modack claims Hanware informed him about the hit saying Kinnear had even told Hanware that Modack was in Johannesburg making him aware that cops knew his whereabouts.
He says as time went on he was harassed by the AGU who he accuses of raiding his home without warrants, assaulting his staff and shooting his dogs.
“I paid Vearey on his request via Mohamed (Hanware). I was present when they were on the phone. Out of fear for my family and myself.”
He says a day before Staggie was gunned down outside his Salt River home on 13 December 2019, Hanware knew of the planned hit.
“He told me Staggie would be shot on the day before the murder. He said it was because the police could not keep him (Staggie) under control. That is when I saw the threat was real.”
The trial continues.