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By Mervyn Naidoo 
9h ago
Durban – The man who allegedly tried to extort money from two Durban families who were in their most vulnerable state with missing loved ones was denied bail this week.
Brandon Moodley, 37, has been wanted by the police since 2013. He was finally arrested in June by members of the KZN Provincial Investigation Unit in Gauteng.
Moodley appeared before Durban Regional Court Magistrate Anand Maharaj on charges of fraud and attempted extortion on Tuesday.
The extortion charge related to a R10000 lawsuit made against Raylene Louw in August 2018. Her son Miguel had been reported missing at the time.
Louw was instructed to transfer the money through an electronic wallet, but did not.
Although Miguel’s body was found dumped in Phoenix a month later, police did not suspect that Moodley had anything to do with the boy’s death.
They also believe that Moodley directed a similar request to Sandra Munsamy’s family after she was kidnapped while driving in Pinetown in May 2019.
No formal charges have been filed regarding Munsamy’s extortion charge.
The fraud charge against Moodley relates to when he allegedly collected a R2020 deposit from a Glencoe resident for the sale of a computer in 2013, but failed to deliver it.
Warrant Officer Rajan Govender of the Provincial Investigation Unit testified at the bond hearing.
Govender recounted how through cell phone analysis techniques, the identity of the person who called Louw and his subsequent call to Moodley requesting an interview was determined.
Moodley said he would ask his attorney Chris Gounden to facilitate a meeting, which was planned for the Phoenix Police Station (April 1, 2019), but Moodley never showed up despite informing Gounden the day he was on his way.
Govender was informed by his commander that Moodley contacted two high-ranking police officers from KwaZulu-Natal and requested that a meeting be arranged at the unit’s Isipingo base, but it never happened.
Govender said he received information in December that an “Indian man” was asking people in Gauteng for information about his loved ones.
They established that Moodley had moved to Lenasia and was living in a temple building.
When they entered the facility, Moodley’s father (Vincent) allegedly claimed that his son’s name was “Deon.”
Moodley was in a bedroom with his wife and initially refused to open the door.
He was placed under arrest. On the way back to Durban, Moodley told the cops that he was feeling bad. Paramedics were called. It was then that officers discovered that Moodley’s family had hidden medications in his clothing and he allegedly faked suicide.
Paramedics confirmed that Moodley was “fine.”
Govender said that after a previous court appearance, while escorting Moodley out of the building, Vincent and a “white man” approached him.
They used foul language, pounced on him and tried to free Moodley, but with the help of his team, they were able to defend themselves against the men, who now face charges of “complicity.
Govender said the state had a strong case against Moodley.
He also said that Sandra Munsamy’s brother claimed to have put money into an e-Wallet account and they will verify the claim.
Attorney Jay Naidoo, who represented Moodley, questioned why Govender brought up the incident at Joburg and brought up Munsamy’s allegations when he had no confirmed evidence to back up his claims.
“That’s because you want to embellish the evidence,” Naidoo said.
About the call to Louw, Naidoo said: “We don’t know who exactly the caller was. All we know is that the phone belonged to Moodley. “
Naidoo doubted that Moodley would admit to being the caller, otherwise Govender would have brought it up during his testimony.
Regarding the fraud charge, Naidoo said there was a dispute over the amount owed that remained unresolved.
He said Moodley had a fixed address with his sister in Shakaskraal and asked why the police had not yet verified the address.
Naidoo disagreed that Moodley was a “flight risk.”
Kuveshni Pillay, the state’s attorney, said Moodley had known since February 2017 about the fraud charge and that there was a “prima facie case” against him for attempted extortion.
Pillay repeated that Moodley was a flight risk, and that Lenasia had told police his name was “Deon”, which was not questioned by Naidoo.
Pillay also pointed out that Moodley did not honor a meeting in Phoenix, showing that he was not someone to trust.
Maharaj also wondered if Moodley could be trusted.
He probed why Moodley had not submitted to the police or chosen a convenient location to meet them.
Maharaj said that Moodley’s wife did not cooperate when the police questioned her about her whereabouts on one occasion, that the father said that his son’s name was Deon and that he and another man clashed with the police.
“Mr. Naidoo’s argument was good, but not good enough to convince me,” Maharaj said in denying bail.
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