Moegsien Haywood a 64-year-old pensioner, has been charged with 14 years in jail after trying to illegally buy guns to sell for his son’s legal fees.
It is likely that Haywood was punished so harshly for buying and selling AK-47s, small arms and hand grenades due to our city already suffering badly from illegally obtained weaponry.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said that the Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court sentenced Haywood on 12 December for being in possession of prohibited firearms, money laundering and gang-related offences.
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He was charged after he entered a plea deal with the State.
The charges come after an investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime investigation team, which took place when they were given a tip about Haywood in May 2019.
During this time, Haywood was out on bail for hiding his son in a cupboard after he skipped his court appearances on the charges of murder he was facing – giving Ziyaad the nickname the “closet killer”.
In a search of Haywood’s house, three semi-automatic weapons, one silencer, 425 rounds of ammunition, one signal jammer, five High Court stamps and one official police identification certificate were found.
Haywood was arrested and sentenced for each of the five counts of illegally possessing a prohibited firearm and nine years’ imprisonment for money laundering.
The court ordered that all counts run concurrently, with Haywood expected to serve 14 years of imprisonment.
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