Madlanga Commission focuses on drug seizures and missing narcotics ahead of interim report

Commission returns to question handling of major drug seizures and disappearances

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has resumed public hearings this week to examine the seizure, storage and disappearance of narcotics in KwaZulu‑Natal and Gauteng as it prepares an interim report for the President.

Public hearings follow in‑camera testimony

The hearings follow recent in‑camera evidence from “Witness H”, and will probe how seized drugs were handled at police facilities, including allegations of theft and mismanagement.

Focus on Hawks storage and a major cocaine theft

The commission’s spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, said the in‑camera evidence centred on seizures, handling, storage and alleged thefts of drugs kept at the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) offices in Port Shepstone, KZN.

Last week’s testimony also brought renewed attention to the circumstances surrounding a high‑value theft of cocaine from a police exhibit facility in KZN. The drugs were later linked to a discovery at an Isipingo depot.

Evidence from Hawks official points to operational failures

Hendrik Flynn, a Hawks Major‑General who heads the Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit, gave evidence about operational failures and decisions that preceded a 2021 break‑in at the Hawks’ Port Shepstone facility.

The theft occurred in November 2021, when suspects entered the exhibit storage facility through its windows and removed 541kg of cocaine. At the time, the site’s alarm system was not operational. A case of theft and business burglary was opened.

How the drugs arrived at the Port Shepstone facility

Flynn told the commission that the cocaine later stolen in Port Shepstone had been discovered in June 2021 at an Isipingo depot after intelligence pointed to a suspicious shipment. Because of space constraints at Isipingo Police Station, the drugs packed in 27 bags were relocated to the Hawks’ Port Shepstone facility.

Trafficking routes and organised crime

Flynn described major transit points for drug trafficking and warned about the role of sophisticated criminal networks. He said

“Bulk trafficking through shipping containers is usually undertaken by sophisticated syndicates.”

He also emphasised that organised crime and corruption in both the government and private sector were interconnected.