Hawks Colonel Gavin Jacob's testimony about R200 million drugs stored at the Hawks offices in KZN went missing scrutinised at Madlanga Commission.
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Colonel Gavin Jacob's testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry reveals significant concerns regarding the absence of a clearing agent during a major cocaine bust at Durban Harbour, highlighting procedural inconsistencies in the investigation.
Jacob, the commander of the Hawks’ Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, conceded it was concerning that the clearing agent was not present when the seal was broken on a container holding 541kg of cocaine worth R200 million at Durban Harbour in 2021, IOL reported.
This emerged during his testimony on Wednesday before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into the drug seizure on 22 June 2021.
Evidence leader Advocate Mehlape Sello, SC, said the commission received a statement from Megafreight clearing agent Timothy John Floweday stating he only received instructions to attend the 23 June 2021 inspection, not the 22 June inspection when drugs were seized at sea.
In response Jacob said: "It is a concern because I was of the impression that all entities were informed accordingly."
He, however, said that during his investigation he obtained statements from the transporter, the clearing agent and the consignee, and none of them expressed dissatisfaction with the container being opened.
"In fact, they were grateful that the police had intercepted this rather than reaching one of the companies or their company name being tarnished because it was found on their premises," he said.
He was questioned about the rationale for responding to suspected drug shipments at the harbour while on leave, especially when the quantity of the exhibits was unclear.
Jacob told the commission it was not out of the ordinary in police work to book yourself in while on leave.
During his testimony at the commission on Tuesday, Crime Intelligence operative Lieutenant-Colonel Justice Jabulani Duma said that after receiving a tip-off about suspected drug shipments at Durban Harbour in 2021, he called Jacob and Warrant Officer Livingstone Mpangase from the Hawks.
He had asked the pair to assist with inspecting a container suspected of smuggling 27kg of drugs.
The container turned out to hold 541kg of cocaine bricks worth R200 million. The drugs were later stolen from the Hawks’ Port Shepstone storage facility during a burglary in November 2021.
Jacob said he was excited to be part of the major drug bust because they are rare, saying: “It is not every day that you get one of these busts.”
He said his immediate supervisor, Colonel Dlomo, was not hands-on in police operations; therefore, he decided not to call her to book back on duty. Instead, he contacted Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa, head of the KZN Hawks’ serious organised crime unit, by asking Mpangase to speak to him about returning from leave for the operation.
"I left home at 8am and was back home at 4pm so I didn't claim for that but in fact if I may add, I love my job," he said, adding that he did not claim the day back for working while on leave.
The commission flagged inconsistencies in his statement, with Co-commissioner Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC pointing out that the investigation diary was inaccurate and misleading because it falsely claimed a customs official was present when the seal was broken.
"You have explained that you have since found out that it is in fact a person who is a liaison for CHC and not a customs official. That is a misrepresentation in your diary," Baloyi said.
Jacob conceded that the information in the investigation diary was inaccurate and misleading, including his statements claiming that Warrant Officer Govender and Warrant Officer Xolani Mkhize were among people present during the breaking of the container's seal.
Sello explained that the purpose of the exercise was to examine what happened at each step, to establish whether the drug theft from the Hawks’ Port Shepstone storage facility was coincidental or had been set up from the beginning.
Jacob's testimony will resume on Thursday.