Private investigators from Magma Investigation and Security, with the help of Winterton police, managed to arrest seven men (including a worker) in connection with the murder of a man at his Winterton farm.

65-year-old Mohamed Shafee Engar and his wife Razia were beaten and tortured by robbers at their farm, Noodhulp, on December 5.

It would take nearly two weeks and the help of private investigators for Winterton police to bring the attackers to book.

Engar, who was also stabbed during the two-hour ordeal, died the following evening in hospital. His wife was injured in the attack. Both were tortured with a hot steam iron.

Of those arrested, six people were arrested near Ezhakhen, and the seventh was a worker on the farm.

The attack shocked the Winterton community to its core.

“One of the reasons we took this case was the sheer brutality of the attackers,” explained Magma owner Shaheen Sulieman.

While Ladysmith police were not aware of the operation, it is clear they were aware of some parts of the operation.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an officer stressed that they were aware of a special operation in the area.

Winterton police and Magma Investigations (a private security and investigation company) made the arrests in connection with the attack over the weekend and on Monday (yesterday) after receiving tip-offs.

“We have a close working relationship with the SAPS and have been involved in countless operations with them,” added Sulieman.

A report of a suspicious-looking vehicle travelling around Ladysmith, transmitted on an SMS crime-monitoring service, had to be hastily changed after it identified the vehicle the undercover investigators were using, almost ending the mission before it had started. It also highlighted the secrecy of the operation, with few if any of the normal people ‘in-the-know’ being aware of the operation.

Sulieman told how his team had assembled in Ladysmith before travelling to Ekuvukeni,  where they arrested four men.

The first two arrests were in daylight, with the remaining suspects being arrested at night in Ekuvukeni. Investigators seized four 9mm pistols with the serial numbers removed, several rounds of ammunition, and items belonging to the Engars. They then proceeded to Ezakheni,  where they arrested two men who were also in possession of  items belonging to the Engar family.

On Monday, they arrested the seventh suspect, a worker on Engar’s farm.

The suspects, aged between 23 and 32, will appear in the Colenso Magistrate’s Court.