Mysterious call leads to Farhaad Moosa murder arrests in KZN

Moosa’s 19-year-old son, Arif Moosa of Baijoo Road, and his alleged accomplices, Hassan Majidu (33) of Madiba informal settlement and Scelo Cele (33) of Cinderella Park, have all been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder following a brief appearance at the New Hanover Magistrate’s Court on Monday, Maritzburg Sun reports.

They are all in custody pending a formal bail application.

Moosa (46), who ran the thriving Ideals Sands business, was killed in what appeared to be a botched robbery in April at his farm in Crammond where unknown men opened fire at him. His son was also shot but survived the incident.
Charges against the female suspect, who was arrested on Friday, have been withdrawn.

Mohammed Ismail, Moosa’s uncle, said in an exclusive interview on Monday that during the late hours of May 12, he received a frantic phone call from one of Moosa’s employees who dropped a bombshell.

“The employee initially phoned me on my cell phone and gave me some information about Farad’s killing. He then sent two WhatsApp messages, including a voice note, telling me about how a close female relative had devised the plan to have him (Moosa) killed in return for a payment of R40 000,” said Ismail.

He said after the voice note, the employee had switched his phone off and could not be reached. After attempting to find the employee, Ismail said he then contacted police on Thursday and they worked swiftly, finding the employee.

“The informant in the voice note sounded a bit jittery and tried to tell me as much as he could without revealing his name. His voice notes were very brief and evasive. In one instance, he switched his cell phone off and I tried to phone him back at least 30 times to no avail,” said Ismail.

Once police had the informant’s contact details, they traced him after identifying a motor vehicle that he had as his social media profile picture. Information received from him led to the arrests on Friday evening.

At court, family divisions were laid bare between the two families of the late businessman and his in-laws.
As news broke that the female relative would no longer appear, murmurs of discontent could be heard while other family members struggled to hold back tears.

Ismail said the family was still reeling from the cold-blooded murder of Moosa.

“My nephew was one of the most generous people I had ever come across. He would dig deep in his pockets to assist people. He never refused to help people,” he said.

The three men were not asked to plead. Court Magistrate Bhekizitha Sibisi adjourned the matter saying the investigations officers still needed to verify the addresses of the accused prior to their bail application.
The court case resumes on May 27.