Johannesburg - It was a long shot, searching an empty plot of land for the body of a man who disappeared more than three years ago.
But it was a shot that both police and the private investigations company, IRS Forensic Investigations, were hoping would yield results.
On Wednesday, IRS and members of the Victim Identification Unit of the police searched an empty plot of land behind a car dealership for the body of Nazeer Mohammed.
Mohammed disappeared more than three years ago from his car dealership in Jules Street, Jeppestown, after he climbed into a black Nissan Navara with three unidentified men.
Two cars and Nazeer’s cellphone were later stolen from the dealership, but were found in Limpopo.
Brothers-in-law Rotshidza Netshiavha and Robert Nemabhaka were convicted of the theft on November 23 last year and are still due to be sentenced.
Prosecutor Welcome Madela made it clear to the court he had no doubt the two men knew what had happened to Mohammed.
Two days after Mohammed’s disappearance, his mother, Shaida Bi Seepye, received a phone call demanding a ransom of R150 000, but charges of kidnapping were dropped against five suspects and there has never been any clarity on what had happened to Mohammed.
Nemabhaka knew Mohammed. He worked for a mechanic, who in the month before Mohammed’s disappearance, had done repairs on one of his cars.
It was at the premises where Nemabhaka worked, just across the road from the dealership Mohammed owned, that police searched for his body on Wednesday.
They were operating on information supplied by IRS, who are acting on behalf of the family and with the police to solve the cold case.
Director Glenda Paul said: “IRS would like to thank Brigadier Helena Ras and members of the Victim Identification Unit as well as members of the SAPS Search and Rescue Unit for dedicating their resources in trying to solve this kidnapping.”
No body was found at the premises, but the team said they were following up on further leads.
The Star