Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crimes Court found Mr Shafiqul Mohammed Islam (36) guilty on Money Laundering charges in terms of Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121. The accused was convicted on all 47 counts.
Mr Islam was arrested after being connected to the case as a recipient of R400 000-00 from the stolen loot. He was later granted bail while 3 of his compatriots were denied bail and are still inside.
Allegations at the time were, between 1 March 2023 and 3 March 2023, the accused tampered with a drop-safe used at their shop. They allegedly dropped an amount of R560 000-00 which is the maximum capacity of the safe repeatedly thereby making their drop-safe app account linked to the safe to be credited with approximately R12.5 million rands. The 12.5 Million rands was immediately transferred to different bank accounts locally and offshore.
Irregular activities of the safe were detected and the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team was informed. Investigation traced the suspects at Kimberley Airport where they were about to board a flight to Johannesburg. Their final destination was reported to be Dubai/Dhaka as per their airline tickets. Police searched the accused and an amount of R23 000-00 cash was found in their possession and seized.
The accused was finally found guilty on 6 November 2026 after numerous court appearances. The matter against 3 other accused was postponed to 12 February 2027 for the separation trial of the other accused.
Mr Mohammed Islam was sentenced as follows, a fine of R350 000-00 or (5) years imprisonment. He was further sentenced to (5) years imprisonment which is wholly suspended for a period of (5) with conditions.
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in the Northern Cape Major General Stephen Mabuela appreciates the commitment shown by both the Investigation team as well as the prosecution team.