In the Nafiz Modack trial the state has zeroed in on a series of cellphone calls to show alleged underworld fixer Ziyaad Poole was involved in a botched hit on prominent criminal defence attorney William Booth, reports EWN.

Poole is being cross-examined in the Western Cape High Court about 10 phone calls made with co-accused Toufeek Brown on the day Booth survived a shooting at his Higgovale home in April 2020.

It is the state's case that Poole and Brown acted on behalf of Modack to orchestrate the hit on Booth. Poole denies any involvement, insisting that his conversations with Brown on that day were not about the shooting.

State prosecutor Greg Wolmarans yesterday continued to press Poole about the timing and frequency of calls.

Wolmarans used Brown's call logs to show the court communication between Brown and co-accused Riyaad Gesant – who has since confessed to being the shooter in the botched hit – both before and after the incident.

The evidence shows Brown also called Poole just minutes after the attack. Wolmarans says the state will argue that Poole played a central role in the attempted murder.

According to the state's case, Booth became a target after assisting one of his clients to avoid being extorted by Modack.

Poole then allegedly turned to his cousin, co-accused Toufeek Brown, and the Terrible West Siders gang to plot the attack.

Furthermore, Wolmarans highlighted the testimony of co-accused Zane Kilian, who previously admitted that Modack had instructed him to track the whereabouts of Booth around the time of the shooting.

The prosecution asserts that the evidence links Poole to at least three of the accused involved in the incident.

Full EWN report