It has taken Captain Eddie du Plessis and his colleagues in the Hawks years to get Nafiz Modack and his co-accused on trial in the Western Cape High Court.
Du Plessis and his colleagues are a familiar sight at all of the court appearances, the bodyguards that shadow them an indication of the risk that they face every day in one of the country's most significant trials involving alleged racketeering, gangsterism, murder, attempted murder, money laundering, intimidation and extortion.
So on Tuesday, sitting near a TV screen, Du Plessis was ready for his turn to testify on the carefully collected evidence the team presented to the three State prosecutors who represent the people of South Africa.