PlayBook Of Brandon ‘Puff’ Kalicharan, Gang Boss Killed Alongside His Wife And Daughter
Brandon “Puff” Kalicharan led a fast-paced and glamorous lifestyle. He had many high-performance cars costing millions of rands, had extravagant parties, and dressed only in the finest outfits.
He was also a legendary Durban underworld figure who ran the 11th Street Gang, named for the Chatsworth unit he was from and developed his drug distribution empire by waging a brutal battle on the streets of Chatsworth, killing his rivals in drive-by shootings.
According to observers, the key to his success was establishing connections with street gangs throughout Durban, especially the notorious Cartel Gang in Wentworth. Joelene Naidoo-Kalicharan, who enjoyed the lifestyle and was known for her lavish taste in clothes and jewellery, was often by his side.
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The Kalicharans’ lives, including that of their innocent nine-year-old daughter, will end at 2.30 pm on Tuesday afternoon, as South Africa marked Human Rights Day.
Heavily armed guys pulled up alongside the family’s Volkswagen Amarok on Peters Road in Springfield Park, a Durban industrial zone, and shot it with bullets from all sides. More than 50 rounds of high-calibre ammunition were fired into the vehicle.
Brandon and Joelene were hit several times and died on the spot. When paramedics came, their nine-year-old daughter was still alive and was brought to the hospital. She died as a result of her injuries.
Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, stated that Kalicharan was a “person of interest” who has been on the Hawks radar for some time.
“The motive of the killing is unknown as yet, although preliminary investigations suggest that the man, who was shot, was allegedly involved in drug and gang-related activities in Chatsworth and was a person of interest in some cases which are being investigated by the Hawks,” he said.
Brandon “Puff” Kalicharan, who was he, and how did he come up on the Hawks radar?
We have put together a profile of Kalicharan’s rags-to-riches journey by interviewing police sources and poring over court documents.
He was raised in Crossmoor, Chatsworth, and went to Crossmead Primary and Crossmoor High Schools. He was reared by his single mother at Universal Place Road, which was considered a nicer part of Chatsworth since it had free-standing houses and was away from the tenement flats.
In the early 2000s, Kalicharan left his position at a textile factory shop to work for Kelvin “Kellys” Naidoo, who owned Phat Funk Apparel stores in Chatsworth and Phoenix. According to police sources, these respectable businesses were really fronts for a rich drug trafficking operation.
Naidoo was slain in a drive-by shooting by the Drey Boys Gang in 2008. Three Drey Boys Gang members were convicted of the killings and sentenced to life in prison.
During this time, Kalicharan took control of the Chatsworth underworld. He left the clothes company and opened a tavern from which he planned his future expansion.
Nevertheless, the Drey Boys stood in his way, resulting in a brutal gang war in which many individuals were slain in drive-by shootings between 2008 and 2011. Despite their concerns, investigators were unable to link Kalicharan to any of the deaths.
After establishing his position in Chatsworth, Kalicharan, according to police sources, transformed his firm into a narcotics wholesale operation, selling significant quantities of cocaine to street gangs across Durban.
Every day, tens of thousands of rands were brought in by the popularity of “sugars,” an inexpensive heroin-based substance.
Kalicharan’s social media “popped”. He would frequently edit videos showing his glamorous lifestyle, complete with vehicles, money, and weaponry.
During a birthday party, he and his wife dressed up as Bonny and Clyde in a movie, replete with background music and slow-motion effects of them pulling out their pistols.
He publicly shared movies and photos with gang leaders, including the renowned Wentworth Cartel Gang.
In one picture, apparently at his birthday party, he celebrates it with a cake of American dollars while brazenly displaying the jail gang code, “626”.
There are also photos and videos of Kalicharan and Cartel Gang commander Kyle “Parra” Pretorius attending parties together.
Pretorius carries a stack of money while informing the camera that they “don’t take money, they make money” in one video in which Kalicharan stands near a DJ box dancing with his shirt open. Pretorius praises the 11th Street gang in another video.
On December 15, 2022, Pretorius was shot and died in a gang-related hit. As his empire flourished and the bodies piled up, the KwaZulu-Natal Anti-Gang Unit, part of the Organised Crime Unit, began focusing on Kalicharan around 2020.
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Raids were carried out at his residence on Railway Road, where he owns three properties. He was detained on eight separate offences, including narcotics possession, unauthorised guns, attempted murder, and murder. Authorities were unable to establish any of these charges.
A police source said, “He had a lot of policemen in his pocket. It was an open secret that he was paying off several policemen at Chatsworth police station. He always managed to stay one step ahead”.
The police have initiated an investigation into Kalicharan’s death. His adversaries were numerous, and there is a vast list of suspects.
