Cape Argus

Man in court on fake pharmacist charges

- Sipokazi Fokazi HEALTH WRITER sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za

Now that the order has been confirmed, the unit will apply for a confiscati­on order if Laher is convicted of the offences he has been charged with.

It is the State’s case that a former Vereenigin­g police colonel, Christiaan Prinsloo, supplied Laher with 2 000 firearms between 2008 and 2014.

The guns were allegedly sold to gangsters for R4 500 each.

Prinsloo, who was in charge of the Gauteng armoury where police firearms are sent for destructio­n, has been jailed for an effective 18 years after he pleaded guilty and implicated Laher.

Laher, however, denies any involvemen­t in illegal gun dealing. He said the State made allegation­s against him which were not substantia­ted with any evidence.

In an affidavit before the court, Laher – a former De Deur police reservist – denied the allegation­s and said Prinsloo was “an acquaintan­ce”.

They had a mutual interest in firearms and sometimes socialised together. The two went hunting together and Prinsloo sometimes visited him in Cape Town and ate breakfast with him at his Spur restaurant in Ottery. They also went to Hout Bay to buy fish.

However, Laher said Prinsloo’s claims should be treated with caution because he was “a self-confessed thief ”. A TABLE VIEW man is set to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges after he allegedly impersonat­ed a city pharmacist.

Noughaad Ahmed, who is not qualified to be a pharmacist, allegedly falsified his identity as Shaheed Hendricks – a registered city pharmacist.

Ahmed, who apparently worked for different locum agencies and health institutio­ns, including state clinics, was busted when he applied to secure employment with a locum agency, Immploy Recruitmen­t.

His fraud case was postponed by the court yesterday after his defence attorney was not in court due to ill health.

During his court appearance, Ahmed, dressed in jeans and a sweater, appeared passive as he briefly took the stand.

He told the court he was out on a warning before the magistrate told him his case had been postponed to Tuesday.

According to the charge sheet, Ahmed, who was arrested in July last year, used an ID that belonged to Hendricks, to get a job at recruitmen­t agencies.

 ?? PICTURE: TRACEY ADAMS ?? BITTER PILL: Noughaad Ahmed appeared in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on charges related to impersonat­ing a pharmacist after he allegedly dispensed medicine.
PICTURE: TRACEY ADAMS BITTER PILL: Noughaad Ahmed appeared in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on charges related to impersonat­ing a pharmacist after he allegedly dispensed medicine.

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