Drive-by accused in court

THREE of the four men linked to the attempted murder of Blaine Pillay and his 10-year-old son have been released on bail.

Yasseen Essop, 35, Klinsmann Naidoo, 27, Vishal Jugdaw 39, and 45-year-old Manuel Naidoo appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Essop, Klinsmann Naidoo and Jugdaw were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, while Manuel Naidoo faced a charge of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

In February, Pillay, 33, and his son were seated in a BMW M4 on the R102 near the Southgate and Broadlands intersection when a suspect exited a white Toyota Etios and fired five shots through Pillay’s open window at close range.

The father of two, who was shot in the head and chest, had to be airlifted to hospital.

His son was unharmed. According to a police source, the hit was linked to a car and other items valued at over R200 000 that were taken from Pillay. It has been alleged that Jugdaw was the shooter.

During court proceedings, Jugdaw abandoned his bail application. He was already an awaiting trial prisoner at Westville Prison after being allegedly caught in possession of drugs in March.

The State did not oppose bail for the remaining men because they had no previous convictions or pending cases.

As part of their bail conditions, the three were ordered not to directly or indirectly communicate with the victims or witnesses.

They have to report to the Phoenix police station every Saturday and are not allowed to leave the province. They also had to hand in all their travel documents to the investigating officer.

The matter was adjourned to June.