Junior Mafia gang members sentenced for hit on abalone poacher

TWO Junior Mafia gang members have been convicted and sentenced for the premeditated murder of an abalone poacher who refused to pay them extortion money. 

The Hermanus Regional Court convicted Junior Mafia gang members, Paul Adams, and Ismail Khan following the assassination of abalone poacher, Cameron Marc Padayachee, on December 21, 2021, with his children present in the car. 

NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said in a plea and sentencing agreement with the State, Adams, 33, confessed that he was a member of the Junior Mafia gang and that he instructed two other members, Khan and Renaldo van der Bergh, to kill Padayachee for his refusal to pay extortion money. Padayachee was involved in abalone poaching and was expected to pay extortion money to the Junior Mafia gang, like all other poachers.

On December 21, 2021, Khan and Van der Bergh collected a firearm from Adams, which was left in his care by another gang member. 

“That afternoon, the two killers approached Padayachee on Kapokblom Street, Blompark, while he was working on a vehicle, and Van der Bergh fired eight shots at him. He died on the scene. Padayachee’s minor children were sitting in the car while their father was being assassinated. They witnessed the assassination and were severely traumatised. They were fetched from the vehicle and taken to safety,” Ntabazalila said. 

There was a previous attempt on Padayachee’s life, but he managed to evade his killers by jumping into his vehicle and driving off. 

“Adams admitted that the order to kill Padayachee was for the benefit of the gang.”  

Adams also confessed that he was a passenger in a bakkie on September 15, 2021, which had illegal abalone when they were arrested at a filling station in Grabouw. 

The court sentenced him to 20 years' direct imprisonment with four years suspended on condition that he is not convicted of murder or being a member of a gang. It sentenced him to five years' direct imprisonment for the contravention of the Marine Living Resources Act, Act 18 of 1998. It ordered this sentence to run concurrently with the sentence for murder and being a member of a gang, effectively sentencing him to 16 years' direct imprisonment. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

In the same plea and sentencing agreement, Khan, 25, confirmed that a decision was taken to kill Padayachee as a result of his involvement in poaching in the area and his refusal to pay a certain percentage of his income to the Junior Mafia gang. 

The court sentenced him to 20 years' direct imprisonment with five years suspended on condition that he is not convicted of murder or being a member of a gang. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Regional court prosecutor Ilse Keyser argued that the offences perpetrated by the accused were very serious and have become associated with the longstanding problem of illegal harvesting of poaching of abalone. 

“The increasing possession and abuse of firearms contribute to the high levels of violent crimes in our communities,” Ntabazalila said. 

She further argued that Padayachee’s murder was premeditated and committed with direct intent.

“His murder sent a warning to other poachers to pay a certain percentage of money to continue with their illegal poaching activities. The deceased’s children were very close to where their father was shot and were severely traumatised by the incident. They could have been hit by a stray or ricocheted bullet. These accused had no regard for their safety or well-being.” 

Van der Bergh entered a plea and sentencing agreement with the State and is serving 30 years of direct imprisonment for the same charges.

Cape Times