Modack denies pinging ‘top cops’

ALLEGED underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack has denied instructing his co-accused to ping the cellphones of Cape Town cops.

This was revealed at the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday as Zane Kilian returned to the stand to be cross-examined by Modack’s lawyer, Advocate Bash Sibda.

Kilian is charged alongside Modack and 13 others in the mammoth underworld trial centred on the murder of slain Anti-Gang Unit detective Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear.

The group face a combined 124 charges, of which several include the illegal interception of cellphone information.

According to the State’s case Kilian used the LAD platform to trace various targets identified by Modack including Kinnear and criminal attorney William Booth.

Earlier this week, Kilian dropped bombshells when he told the court that Modack wysed him to ping Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, Joel Booysen, Mark Lifman and even Ralph Stanfield.

He also admitted that Modack wanted the phones of high-ranking cops such as Major-General Jeremy Vearey, Major-General Andre Lincoln and Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith pinged.

Addressing Kilian, Sibda said Modack denied instructing him to ping cops except on a few occasions when he instructed Kilian to check if Booysen and Kinnear were in the same place.

Kilian insisted he only pinged on Modack’s request and further denied pinging Kinnear on the day he was murdered saying someone else had access to his pinging platform.

Sibda also told Kilian that his client denied ever asking Kilian to obtain consumer trace reports on Kinnear as he accused Kilian of using his affiliation with Modack to gain “territory” in the debt collecting business.

The trial continues.