The Aeroton cocaine haul

What it is

A consignment of about 715.86 kilograms of cocaine, valued at roughly R286 million (street value reported up to R300 million), intercepted on 9 July 2021 at Aeroton, a Johannesburg industrial area, after a truck delivered legitimate cargo from Durban harbour to a Scania warehouse. The cocaine was trafficked into South Africa from Brazil. Years later it emerged that about R55 million worth had gone missing from the forensic laboratory where it was stored.

Why it matters

Aeroton is the inquiry's case study in a 'bungled' major bust: rival police units clashed at the scene, an officer admitted loading cocaine bags onto an open bakkie without gloves or evidence bags, the case against the four arrested suspects was withdrawn, and part of the haul later vanished. It feeds the allegation that an organised network has infiltrated the criminal-justice chain.