Senior police officers tasked with unravelling an alleged Islamic State (IS) terror cell in South Africa were in deep discussions with prosecutors on Tuesday morning.
Speaking in hushed voices in courtroom 13 at the Johannesburg Magistrates Court‚ prosecutors and officers from the Crimes Against the State unit huddled close to each other ahead of court proceedings starting.
The courtroom was under lockdown ahead of the appearance of twins Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie‚ who face three charges relating to terrorism activities.
They are alleged to have been plotting to attack US and Jewish interests in South Africa and of twice attempting to fly to Syria to join IS.
The Thulsies were arrested on the same weekend as siblings Ibrahim and Fatima Patel in police anti-terrorism raids earlier this month.
As police and prosecutors held discussions‚ the Thulsies’ family‚ several in religious garb‚ sat nervously in the public gallery talking among themselves and trying to avoid media attention.