Cape Town - Former top cop Jeremy Vearey has denied being the voice behind a telephone call allegedly asking underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, to put “meat on the table”.
This was revealed yesterday as the Western Cape’s former head of detectives returned to the stand for cross examination by Modack’s lawyer, Advocate Bash Sibda.
Last month Vearey took to the stand and denied Modack’s claims that he had top cops on his payroll.
In June a statement made by Modack nearly six years ago claimed Vearey and slain Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear were on his payroll.
In the initial statement captured by Captain Alfred Barker, Modack claims after being released on bail he was approached by a man known as Mohamed Hanware who claimed he could help Modack get his firearms back by paying police R150,000.
In the Hawks investigation they found that the money was transferred from the bank account of Empire Car Investments into four accounts belonging to the wife of Hanware, Advocate Caitlin Bowen.
Court documents showed various transfers with various payments from 2018 to 2020 using references such as ‘Gen V’ amounting to R587,000.
Further investigations revealed the money trail stopped with the couple.
Addressing the court Sibda played an audio clip which he explained was a telephone call between Hanware and a man who Modack claimed was Vearey as they discussed guns and money using code words such as “roses”, “biltong” and “meat”.
It is understood that Modack recorded the conversation. During the three minute clip the man identified as Hanware asks: “Howzit G. The deal that I am speaking about is on for tomorrow. But I will give you details when I leave later tonight… Tell me something the roses [guns] for Nafiz ?”
In response the man on the other side of the line says: “I am doing a lot of work for that guy Nafiz but there is no meat [money] coming to the table”.
Responding to Sibda, Vearey denied being the voice on the audio clip and revealed that a lengthier clip was sent to him when he was the provincial head of detectives.
He claimed the audio first surfaced in the newspaper with the media outlet later issuing an apology. Vearey also revealed that the editor came to his office to personally apologise and revealed that their source was Barker.
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus