Trial of Durban arms dealer said to smuggle guns to gangs on hold
THE trial of a Durban arms dealer accused of smuggling guns to Cape Flats gangs has been put on hold as Legal Aid Lawyers took over the massive case.
This was revealed at the Western Cape High Court on Friday as Anderson Padayachee, 40, travelled all the way from Durban to attend another pretrial hearing after successfully proving he could not afford a private lawyer to represent him.
He allegedly provided guns to the notorious Terrible Josters gang.
Padayachee was busted in February last year by the Hawks Illegal Firearms Control and Priority Violent Crime team from Cape Town together with the Special Task Force team in Durban, Crime Intelligence and Metro Police.
At the time of the arrest the Hawks revealed they had seized 17 illegal firearms in George in transit from Johannesburg; further investigation revealed those firearms were allegedly destined to Cape Town’s criminal gangs.
A further 44 firearms were seized from his business during the investigation process.
According to the charge sheet, Padayachee is charged under the Poca act for aiding criminal activities by the Terrible Josters gang in Kalksteenfontein and Bonteheuwel by unlawfully selling guns to them in 2018. The arms dealer allegedly also committed fraud on the firearms registry and supplied false information for the issuing of competency certificates.
The charge sheet also highlighted eight murders Padayachee is being charged with, which include those of Anisto Dillon from Strand, Chad Julius from Lotus River, and Rivaldo Willeman from Valhalla Park. It is believed he is being charged with murder as he provided the guns used in these murders.
Advocate Burger Brand explained they were still going through the sizable docket and needed more time. The case was postponed to March 3 for another pre-trial hearing.