Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear’s phone was pinged more than 100 times per day shortly before he was gunned down outside his home in Bishop Lavis.
Also read: Modack trial: Ex-cop warned of Kinnear’s danger, struggled to alert authorities
This week, officers took the stand in the Western Cape High Court to provide the details of how Kinnear, criminal lawyer William Booth, and others were stalked.
Booth was also reportedly pinged more than 300 times before his botched assassination at his Higgovale home.
In earlier testimonies, a former gangster and self-proclaimed hitman revealed that he was sent to murder Booth at various locations, which were allegedly provided by underworld kingpin Nafiz Modak’s coaccused, Ziyaad Poole.
The witness, only known as ‘Mr A’ to protect his identity, told the court that he tried to kill Booth on several occasions. Each attempt failed for various reasons, including falling asleep on the job, IOL reports.
According to the State, Booth’s phone was pinged by another of Modack’s coaccused, Zane Kilian.
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In court, former cop Bradley Goldblatt provided expert testimonies, after which the Hawks team presented digital data to show just how many times the alleged targets were pinged.
Goldblatt admitted in court that he was aware using the LAD system to track phones was illegal. However, he argued that he had alerted the Hawks about the threat to Kinnear’s life.
Captain Edward Du Plessis told the court that Booth was pinged a total of 344 times. Of these, 235 pings were successful.
He stated that the pings started on 6 March 2020. Just one ping and three days later, Booth had been pinged up to 14 times in one day. He also revealed that Booth was pinged anytime between 2am and the late hours of the morning to determine his location.
Upon questioning by State advocate Greg Wolmarans, Du Plessis said Booth was pinged 49 times on 14 March 2020. The pings only decreased by less than one per day after his botched assassination on 9 April 2020.
Furthermore, officers revealed that Kinnear was pinged no less than 40 times per day. He was pinged 35 times on the day he was murdered. Wolmarans said his number was never pinged again after his death.
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Picture: Jaco Marais / Gallo Images