Exhibit · Narcotics
The 541kg Port Shepstone cocaine seizure
541kg of cocaine, about R200m, seized at Durban and later stolen from police custody.
Illustration, not evidenceWhat it is
A consignment of 541 kilograms of cocaine, valued at roughly R200 million, seized after officers intercepted a container at the CHC container depot in Isipingo, Durban, on 22 June 2021. The drugs were taken to Isipingo police station and then moved more than 100km to the Hawks Serious Organised Crime offices in Port Shepstone, where they were stolen on 8 November 2021.
Why it matters
It is the physical centre of the inquiry's 'bust to heist' thread: a major seizure that vanished from police custody. Testimony alleges the storage decision was irregular, that an earlier attempted break-in went unaddressed, and that the theft was an inside job. Witnesses dispute who ordered the move and why, making the haul itself the exhibit around which accountability is contested.
In the record
Where this object appears
Colonel Gavin Jacob
Commander, Durban Serious Organised Crime Unit - KZN Hawks
View witness →Testified · resigned from HawksMajor General Lesetja Senona
Provincial Head, KZN Hawks (DPCI)
View witness →Testified · under scrutinyLieutenant Colonel Kwazikwakhe Sibiya
Hawks officer, Durban Serious Organised Crime Unit
View witness →Testified · exoneratedWarrant Officer Karl Sander
Hawks narcotics investigator
View witness →Related casePort Shepstone cocaine theft
View case →Sources
Where this comes from
- Business Day: Hawks officer accused of lying over R200m cocaine storage at Madlanga commission
- IOL: Sibiya - I followed orders in the missing cocaine case
- The Citizen: 'You comply now and complain later' - Cop grilled over 'unlawful' conduct in Port Shepstone cocaine seizure
Illustration, not a photograph of real evidence. Generated to depict an object described in the commission record.