South Africa Hawks cocaine theft inquiry implicates senior officers

Colonel Gavin Jacob, commander of the Hawks’ Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he would “bear some responsibility” for the loss of a R200‑million, 541 kg cocaine consignment stolen from a Hawks office in Port Shepstone. Jacob denied any direct involvement in the theft, saying he had only moved the drugs from an Isipingo depot to the Port Shepstone building after other storage facilities ran out of space. The commission highlighted that Jacob misled senior officers about having “exhausted all avenues” for storage, and he admitted his statements were factually inaccurate.

The inquiry also examined claims that Major General Hendrick Fynn falsified an internal investigation, and that KwaZulu‑Natal Hawks head Major General Lesetja Senona authorised the relocation of the drugs to a poorly secured facility lacking CCTV and armed‑response alarms. Multiple break‑ins at the Port Shepstone office were documented, and several Hawks members underwent polygraph tests. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, chair of the commission, described Jacob’s account as an “assumption and a lie” and pressed for accountability.

The scandal has prompted disciplinary action against several Hawks officers and intensified scrutiny of the agency’s handling of high‑value drug seizures.