Police apparently smashed through a glass front door to get into the Bellville home of a former bouncer boss in an underworld raid targeting illegal guns and clamping down on suspected money laundering.
Officers targeted controversial businessman Andre Naude’s house around 03:30 on Friday.
Police did not immediately respond to a News24 query on the raid.
For a detailed breakdown of underworld activities in Cape Town, see News24’s showcase Underworld Unmasked here.
Items seized, according to a document seen by News24, included a desktop computer, several laptops, and a memory stick.
However, Naude said no illegal items or substances were found in his home.
Nightclub security
Naude told News24 on Friday morning that it seemed as if they had raided his house just after he left the country.
“This is malicious,” he said, adding it had left his family members, who were home at the time, traumatised.
Naude previously ran a nightclub security operation, Specialised Protection Services, which covered the majority of nightclub venues in the Western Cape, with Sea Point businessman Mark Lifman.
The operation was run illegally and later shut down.
Naude and Lifman were cleared of hundreds of criminal charges in the matter.
The raid on Naude’s house on Friday comes as police tighten the squeeze on underworld activities in Cape Town.
Earlier this year an underworld battle erupted when a newer group started forcefully taking over nightclub security from a more established group.
On Friday, Naude said he planned to take legal action against those behind the raid.
Drugs
News24 has seen a photograph of a section of his home, where a glass door was smashed, apparently by police officers, to get into the house.
A search warrant, seen by News24, was obtained in Bishop Lavis, but signed by a magistrate in Bellville. It shows that various crimes, including having illegal firearms and money laundering, were suspected of being committed.
The search warrant said it was also suspected that tik, mandrax and dagga were being used.
It listed items, suspected of being used in offences, including “all computers, electronic storage devices phones, tabletstand documents, financial records and money”.
READ: Police with ‘machine guns, nyala’ raid Booysen’s home
The search warrant said there were “reasonable grounds for believing that such articles are in the control of or upon unknown Nigerian nationals” at Naude’s house.
Naude told News24 none of these unknown individuals, were, or had been, at his house.
In a previous underworld police operation, the home of another controversial businessman Nafiz Modack was targeted. Modack is said to be heading the new underworld group taking control of nightclub security.
Modack previously told News24 his home in Plattekloof was burgled on July 14 by police officers who stole cash and got into a safe and stole “sensitive classified documents” containing the names of police generals.
However, police said an operation was conducted there.
Raid
On May 29, there was a massive raid at the home of one of Naude’s associates – Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, the alleged leader of the Sexy Boys gang.
In that raid police officers in a nyala rammed into a garage door at his home, forcing it open, and officers armed with automatic rifles then squeezed passed it to get inside.
Watch that incident here:
Booysen was wounded in the neck and shoulder in a shooting on May 8.
He was apparently on his way to see Deon Williams, said to be linked to the 26s gang and better known as Igor, who had just been shot dead in Ravensmead.
[Source: News24]
