Exhibit · Equipment
The seized encrypted phone
A suspect's seized smartphone holding self-deleting 'Threema' chats and a Transnet manifest screenshot.
Illustration, not evidenceWhat it is
A suspect's seized smartphone that investigators say held the forensic centrepiece of the Aeroton evidence: self-deleting 'Threema' chats, WhatsApp and Telegram messages, and a screenshot of a Transnet manifest. Lt-Col Sebola presented evidence drawn from the device pointing to an organised syndicate - a contact known only as 'Alpha' and an alleged Transnet insider steering which berth the ship used at Durban harbour.
Why it matters
The phone is where the Aeroton case turns from a chaotic crime scene into a documented network. Its encrypted chats and the manifest screenshot underpin the allegation that an organised group, with insiders reaching into the port, was behind the consignment.
Sources
Where this comes from
- Daily Maverick - Another cocaine theft: R55m missing from R286m consignment (11 May 2026)
- Daily Maverick - SA's cocaine shame: how cops 'bungled' global trafficking cases (24 May 2026)
- IOL - Madlanga Commission turns spotlight on Gauteng's R300 million Aeroton cocaine bust (8 June 2026)
Illustration, not a photograph of real evidence. Generated to depict an object described in the commission record.