‘Bombing mastermind’ was also busy seeking third wife online
● An alleged Islamic State acolyte accused of murder and being the “mastermind” behind a series of firebomb attacks at Woolworths outlets in Durban last year had been on the lookout for a third wife — an Indonesian bombshell — days before his arrest.
Yesterday marked one year since Farhad Hoomer, a 39-year-old Durban multimillionaire businessman, was arrested at his Reservoir Hills home in an organised raid by members of the Hawks’ crimes against the state unit.
The Sunday Times can reveal that Hoomer had set up a profile on IndonesianCupid, a free dating website described as the “largest Indonesian dating site with over 1-million members”.
His only condition for his unassuming bride: “You will not be allowed to go to work.”
Describing himself as an attractive and happily married man with two wives and five children, Hoomer emphasised that he sought “a wife who fears Allah; she must be in a hijaab or niqaab; and she is not allowed to work.”
The profile shows that Hoomer, who made his money in property development, import and export and gold trading, had been active more than 12 months ago.
Under the income section, Hoomer indicates “prefer not to say”.
Hoomer’s profile, however, does not in- form any unsuspecting prospective wife that he has been fingered by the Hawks as the ringleader in orchestrating the brutal murder of Verulam mechanic Abbas Essop at the Imam Hussain Mosque in May last year.
Sources close to the investigation say Hoomer had been on the Hawks’ radar for some years.
In March 2016 police nabbed Hoomer together with a woman, Kanwal Irshad, at King Shaka International Airport with $50,000 (about R757,000).
The money, which was seized and held at the Reserve Bank’s head office in Pretoria, has since been deposited in the National Revenue Fund.
Hoomer, who was initially arrested with 18 others — seven of whom have had charges against them dropped — appeared with his co-accused in the Verulam magistrate’s court on Monday.