The Madlanga Commission resumes hearings this week, probing drug seizures and the disappearance of narcotics in KwaZulu‑Natal (KZN) and Gauteng.
Testimony follows last week’s in‑camera evidence from Witness H.
Drug storage
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said the in-camera evidence focused on the seizure, handling, storage and alleged theft of drugs kept at the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) offices in Port Shepstone, KZN.
“This is the last week of public hearings before the Commission breaks from 18 May 2026 to focus on its second interim report, which is due to be delivered to President Cyril Ramaphosa on 29 May 2026,” said the commission’s spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels.
Cocaine theft
Last week, evidence presented at the Madlanga commission brought renewed scrutiny to the circumstances surrounding the theft of cocaine valued at R200 million from a police storage facility in KZN.
Hendrik Flynn, a Hawks Major-General and head of the Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit within the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, gave evidence of operational failures and questionable decisions that preceded the 2021 break-in at a Hawks facility in Port Shepstone.
The theft took place in November 2021, when suspects entered the exhibit storage facility through its windows and stole 541kg of cocaine.
The site’s alarm system was not operational at the time. A case of theft and business burglary was subsequently opened.
Drug trafficking
Flynn testified that major transit points for drug trafficking typically include OR Tambo International Airport, Lebombo Border Post and the Durban harbour.
“Bulk trafficking through shipping containers is usually undertaken by sophisticated syndicates,” Flynn told the commission.
Crime and corruption
The cocaine later stolen in Port Shepstone was discovered in June 2021 at an Isipingo depot after intelligence pointed to a suspicious shipment.
Due to space constraints at Isipingo Police Station, the drugs – packed in 27 bags – were relocated to the Hawks’ Port Shepstone facility.
Earlier, Flynn emphasised that organised crime and corruption in both the government and the private sector were deeply interconnected.
Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa
