An apparent Crime Intelligence report claiming that underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack had been shot dead in Cape Town had journalists in a frenzy on Tuesday.

However, it soon emerged that Modack was alive and well.The report came from what appeared to be a Crime Intelligence communiqué and it claimed that Modack had been shot dead at a motor vehicle auction in Bellville at 10:50 on Tuesday.

The story was reported, along with information that three gunmen carried out the hit and that someone else was injured.

It was even reported that the person who was shot may have been Modack's body double.A WhatsApp message from Modack's number, which News24 has seen, confirmed that he was alive.

However, after probing further, News24 established that there was no shooting incident at all.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed that Western Cape police had no record of such an incident.

More to follow.