Brandon “Puff” Kalicharan, a notorious underworld figure in Durban who ran the 11th Street Gang was killed in a drive-by shooting in Peters Road, Springfield Park on Tuesday 21 March 2023.
Who was Brandon “Puff” Kalicharan?
He was a flashy and high-profile underworld figure from Chatsworth who lived a fast and luxurious lifestyle, owning several high-performance cars worth millions of rands, throwing lavish parties, and dressing only in the best clothes.
Kalicharan ran the 11th Street Gang named after the Chatsworth unit where he grew up. He built his drug distribution empire by waging a bloody war on the streets of Chatsworth, taking out his rivals in drive-by shootings.
Observers say that his success was due to his ability to forge ties with street gangs across Durban, including the feared Cartel Gang in Wentworth.
Kalicharan’s wife, Jeconiah Naidoo-Kalicharan, was always by his side, embracing the lifestyle and known for her expensive taste in clothes and jewelry.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 21, 2023, as South Africa observed Human Rights Day, the lives of the Kalicharans, including their innocent nine-year-old daughter, came to an end.
In Springfield Park, Durban, heavily armed gunmen pulled up alongside the family’s VW Amarok and sprayed it with bullets from both sides.
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More than 50 rounds of high-caliber bullets penetrated the car.
Brandon and Jeconiah were struck multiple times and died on the scene. Their daughter was still alive by the time paramedics arrived and was taken to hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that Kalicharan was a “person of interest” and had 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 grew up in Crossmoor, Chatsworth and attended Crossmead Primary and Crossmoor Secondary School.
He lost his father, Sylvan at a young age and was raised by his single mother in Universal Place Road – considered a nicer part of Chatsworth because it had free-standing houses and was away from the tenement flats.
Kalicharan’s entry into the cut-throat world of gangs and drugs began in the early 2000s when he left his job in a clothing factory shop to go work for Kelvin “Kellys” Naidoo who owned Phat Funk Clothing shops in Chatsworth and Phoenix.
According to police sources, these legitimate shops were mere fronts for a lucrative drug racket.
In 2008, Naidoo was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting by the Drey Boys Gang.
Three members of the Drey Boys Gang were convicted of the murders and were sentenced to life in prison.
It was during this period that Kalicharan began running the Chatsworth underworld.
He moved away from the clothing business and opened a tavern from where he plotted his expansion.
The Drey Boys, however, stood in his way which culminated in a bloody gang war in which several people were killed in drive-by shootings between 2008 and 2011.
While suspicions were high, police were unable to pin any of the murders on Kalicharan.
After consolidating his power in Chatsworth, Kalicharan, according to police sources, turned his business into a drug wholesale operation – rather than street pushing – where he would sell large quantities of drugs to street gangs across Durban.
The popularity of the cheap heroin-based drug known as “sugars” brought in tens of thousands of rands every day.