The mystery surrounding the theft of R200-million worth of cocaine from a Hawks strongroom in Port Shepstone deepened on Wednesday when suspended KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit commander Brig Campbell Nyuswa admitted that only law enforcement officials knew where the drugs were stored.
Nyuswa was testifying before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which has spent weeks probing the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of 541kg of cocaine from a Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) facility on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in November 2021.
The cocaine had been seized months earlier during a major operation at an Isipingo depot near Durban Harbour. Valued at about
R200-million, the consignment was moved to the Port Shepstone Hawks offices for sampling and eventual destruction instead of being transferred to a forensic science laboratory, a decision that has come under intense scrutiny at the commission.
The drugs were stored in a walk-in strongroom at the facility. Between November 6 and November 8, 2021, shortly after the local government elections, intruders forced their way into the building, breached security measures and used a grinder to cut open the heavy-duty safe before making off with the cocaine.
Embarrassing security breach
The theft has become one of the most embarrassing security breaches in South African policing history and has fuelled allegations that the operation may have involved insiders.
“I suspected [the crime scene] was staged because I was under the impression that the strongroom can never be accessed without a key,” said Nyuswa.
But despite being pressed repeatedly, Nyuswa stopped short of accusing anyone directly.
Instead, he emphasised that the location of the state-of-the-art safes was known only to law enforcement officials working on the case.
“The safes are in a very private space. Only members of the DPCI and the police would know where they are. Not any private person. It was out of sight, and it is still out of sight,” he told the commission.
Suspected collusion
His testimony comes amid allegations that senior Hawks officials may have colluded with criminals by storing the high-value cocaine haul at a facility that was allegedly ill-equipped to safeguard evidence of such magnitude.
Nyuswa would not be drawn into commenting on the role of former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona, who previously testified that he had possession of both the original and spare keys to the facility where the cocaine was kept.
When questioned about whether Senona’s control of the keys should raise suspicion, Nyuswa declined to make that leap.
However, he conceded that the circumstances surrounding the burglary simply did not make sense to him.
He noted that previous break-ins at the premises had targeted office areas rather than the secure storage facilities.
‘Strongroom regarded as highly secure’
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi challenged Nyuswa over an earlier statement that the safe could not have been breached “without being detected”.
“Explain the last part … ‘Without being detected’,” Baloyi demanded.
Nyuswa admitted that he may have overstated the point.
He nevertheless maintained that the strongroom was regarded as highly secure and was considered virtually impossible to access without a key.
Nyuswa recalled conversations with the building’s now-deceased landlord.
“He would tell me how secured those safes are and that those safes can never be accessed without the key.”
He added that something was simply off about the crime scene.
“There were two safes next to one another. How would an outsider know which safe contains what?”
The commission has previously heard evidence that the facility lacked CCTV cameras, had a dysfunctional alarm system and was not protected by a 24-hour armed response service when the cocaine disappeared.
Senior police officers have since suggested that the sequence of events leading up to the theft was too suspicious to be dismissed as an ordinary burglary.
- Suspended KwaZulu-Natal Hawks commander Brig Campbell Nyuswa testified that only law enforcement officials knew the exact location of the R200-million cocaine stash stolen from a Hawks strongroom in Port Shepstone in 2021.
- The 541kg cocaine was seized at a Durban depot and stored at the Hawks facility for sampling and destruction instead of a forensic lab, sparking scrutiny over security decisions.
- Intruders breached the walk-in strongroom by cutting through a heavy-duty safe shortly after local elections, raising suspicions of insider involvement or collusion with criminals.
- Nyuswa highlighted the strongroom’s high security, saying access without keys was nearly impossible and expressing doubts about the crime scene’s authenticity.
- The commission heard the facility lacked CCTV, had a faulty alarm system, and no 24-hour armed response, deepening concerns over possible internal complicity and security failures.
R200-million, the consignment was moved to the Port
"I suspected [the crime scene] was staged because I was under the impression that the strongroom can never be accessed without a key," said
But despite being pressed repeatedly,
Instead, he emphasised that the location of the state-of-the-art safes was known only to law enforcement officials working on the case.
"
His testimony comes amid allegations that senior Hawks officials may have colluded with criminals by storing the high-value cocaine haul at a facility that was allegedly ill-equipped to safeguard evidence of such magnitude.
When questioned about whether Senona's control of the keys should raise suspicion,
However, he conceded that the circumstances surrounding the burglary simply did not make sense to him.
He noted that previous break-ins at the premises had targeted office areas rather than the secure storage facilities.
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi challenged
"Explain the last part ... '
He nevertheless maintained that the strongroom was regarded as highly secure and was considered virtually impossible to access without a key.
"He would tell me how secured those safes are and that those safes can never be accessed without the key."
He added that something was simply off about the crime scene.
"
Senior police officers have since suggested that the sequence of events leading up to the theft was too suspicious to be dismissed as an ordinary burglary.
