Missing R200m cocaine scandal: Hawks ignored security red flags | Madlanga Commission

Retired Hawks member Lieutenant-Colonel Jakobus Prinsloo testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry about poor security at the Hawks’ Port Shepstone office, which led to the 2021 theft of 541 kg of cocaine worth R200 million. The missing 541 kg of cocaine, worth R200 million, was kept at the Hawks’ Port Shepstone office in 2021 despite a 2017 order from former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Jabulani Zikhali to not use that office and four others for exhibit storage because of security risks. This emerged during the testimony of retired Hawks member Lieutenant-Colonel Jakobus Prinsloo, who appeared before theMadlanga Commission of Inquiryon Thursday.

Prinsloo, the former unit commander at Port Shepstone, told the commission that the incumbent KZN Hawks head,Major-General Lesetja SenonaandProvincial Commander for Serious Organised Crimeat the Hawks Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa were aware of the 2017 order prohibiting the storing of exhibits at the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) or Hawks offices. Prinsloo, the former unit commander at Port Shepstone, told the commission that the incumbent KZN Hawks head,Major-General Lesetja Senonaand at the Hawks Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa were aware of the 2017 order prohibiting the storing of exhibits at the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) or Hawks offices. Burglars later stole the drugs from the premises after using a grinder to break into the strong room where the drugs were stored.

This week Major-General Hendrick Flynn,Component Head for Serious Organised Crimeat the Hawks, testified that after the drugs seizure from Durban Harbour on June 21, 2021,an officer identified as Warrant Officer Mpangase checked the drugs into Isipingo Police Station the following day and checked them out the same day. at the Hawks, testified that after the drugs seizure from Durban Harbour on June 21, 2021, On Nyuswa’s instruction, who consulted with Senona, the drugs were relocated from Isipingo to Port Shepstone, which is 100 km away, allegedly due to storage capacity issues. This was despite other police stations within a 20 km radius where the exhibits could have been kept.