Madlanga Commission | Hawks head flags ‘suspicious’ handling of 2021 cocaine seizure

Head of Serious Organised Crime in the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks), Major-General Hendrik Flynn, says the handling of cocaine seized in KwaZulu-Natal in 2021 raised serious concerns.

Testifying at the Madlanga Commission on Tuesday, Flynn described the process as “suspicious” noting that the drugs were never taken to a police station for safekeeping.

The testimony relates to the theft of more than 500 kilograms of cocaine from the Potchefstroom Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) Unit in June 2021.

Flynn told the commission that standard procedure requires seized drugs to be stored at the nearest police station, in this case, Isipingo SAPS.

However, KwaZulu-Natal DPCI head Lesetja Senona, initially claimed there was insufficient storage capacity at the station.

This has been disputed by warrant officer, Dan Perumal, who said he was never approached about storing the drugs.

His account is supported by Isipingo station commander, Erick Jacobs, who confirmed that no request was made.

Flynn said the drugs were instead diverted to the Potchefstroom SOCI unit, where they were later stolen under circumstances still under investigation.

In a separate development, Flynn revealed that police seized nearly a tonne of cocaine in Durban in July 2021.

The drugs – 999 one-kilogram bricks – were discovered hidden inside a shipping container at a logistics depot, traced back to the Port of Santos in Brazil.

The container, declared as carrying truck parts linked to Scania, was found to have been used without the company’s knowledge.

Flynn said a detention order had been placed on the shipment before the seizure, with the drugs later taken to Maydon Wharf Police Station.

Flynn explained that traffickers often exploit legitimate cargo using a method known as “rip-on, rip-off” where drugs are concealed in containers without the owner’s knowledge and removed before delivery.

He added that such operations typically rely on organised criminal networks and, in some cases, corrupt officials at ports of origin and destination.

He identified key trafficking points in South Africa as the Durban Harbour, OR Tambo International Airport, and the Lebombo Border Post.

According to Flynn, remains both a destination and a transit hub for international drug trafficking networks.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao