Hearings before the Madlanga commission continued on Tuesday, with testimony about a major drug bust in Aeroton, Johannesburg in 2021.
In July that year, the Hawks intercepted nearly a tonne of cocaine shipped from Brazil amid allegations that police officers had tried to steal the consignment. Two South African Police Service officers and two Gauteng traffic officers were arrested. This came after the Hawks had discovered 751kg of cocaine shipped through the same company.
Warrant Officer Marumo Magane, the commander of the Crime Information Management and Analysis Centre at Zonkizizwe police station, testified about his involvement at the scene.
Magane said that on 9 July 2021, he had received a call from Gauteng traffic chief Samuel Mashaba who had wanted help to intercept a truck allegedly transporting drugs.
“Chief Mashaba called me regarding information about a truck allegedly transporting drugs and asked for assistance and manpower to follow up on the information,” Magane said.
West Rand Hawks Commander Francois Steyn told the commission on Monday that drug investigations fell outside the mandate of traffic officers. He added that the truck company had contacted him after the container attracted significant police attention.
Logistics company Yellow Jersey had initially denied the officers access to the shipping container because they did not have a warrant. They had then approached client company Scania to request access.
Magane told the commission he had met Mashaba, who was driving a grey VW Golf and was accompanied by a civilian, Mr Nku, who had been driving a charcoal BMW 7 Series. The group had then searched the container.
Magane had arrived in a black Nissan NP300 bakkie, which Hawks officers have alleged was later used in an attempt to remove the drugs from the scene.
“The container was opened by one of their staff members and to our surprise, as soon as the doors opened, some black bags started falling from the container,” he said.
Officers had discovered 999kg of cocaine wrapped in black refuse bags. The cocaine bricks bore different insignia, including a Red Bull logo and a flying falcon, which Steyn previously told the commission were markers indicating the shipment’s intended cartel destination.
Witness statements from Hawks officials submitted to the commission allege that some officers at the scene had been attempting to steal the cocaine. They were allegedly intercepted after Scania staff had alerted the Hawks.
“Chief Mashaba and I realised it would be impossible for the forklift to unload the truck from the loading bay while the bags were already on the ground and stuck near the trailer wheels. As a result, we instructed Scania staff to load the black bags onto the back of the service bakkie while we waited for other members,” Magane said.
He told the commission that more officers from various police units had later arrived at the scene after complaints that individuals were impersonating police officers.
“Major General Feroz Khan arrived immediately after Warrant Officer Phakula and the situation got out of hand. Upon his arrival, Major General Khan went straight to the warehouse and met with Scania management. After that, he came back and ordered us to stop our operation,” Magane said.
Khan later faced disciplinary action and was acquitted over his involvement as the head of Counter and Security Intelligence in a case that should have been handled by the Hawks. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has accused Khan of being central to alleged corruption within crime intelligence, including claims involving a R600 million crime intelligence slush fund.
Hawks arrested four police officers who attempted to steal 999kg of cocaine that arrived in Johannesburg from Brazil
