‘Embarrassing’ R200m cocaine theft was eighth break-in at Hawks building, cop tells commission

Why this matters

Testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on 6 May 2026 delved further into lax security at a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal, from where a R200-million cocaine consignment was stolen in 2021. The theft is suspected to be an inside job.

This testimony is important because it highlights how vulnerable a critical police building was to criminals and fits into what the commission is investigating – accusations that a drug cartel has infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice sector.

Criminals broke into a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal seven times over a decade before a R200-million cocaine consignment was stolen from there, meaning police were fully aware of the premises’ vulnerability.

These details about the runup to the theft emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, when Major General Hendrik Flynn continued his testimony.

Flynn heads the Serious Organised Crime Investigation component of the Hawks.

Flynn began testifying at the commission on Tuesday and explained how the R200-million cocaine consignment intercepted at an Isipingo depot in June 2021 was stolen from the Hawks building in Port Shepstone months later, in November.

He said the building lacked private security because of an expired contract and had no working alarm system.

FOR CONTEXT

From bust to heist — Hawks officer says cops ‘intentionally bungled’ R200m cocaine haul investigation

May 5, 2026

The R200-million cocaine consignment has links to transnational traffickers.

This fits in with the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry hearing into accusations that a drug cartel has infiltrated the criminal justice system, politics and private security.

8 break-ins at Hawks building

On Wednesday, Flynn went into further detail about what happened in the runup to the 2021 cocaine theft, which he believes was an inside job.

He read from a previously confidential report by another police officer that listed eight break-ins at the Port Shepstone building over roughly a decade.

It was not clear who was behind those incidents or exactly what happened during each.

The break-ins happened on:

• 27 December 2011
• 8 June 2014
• 8 December 2018
• 20 January 2020
• 15 March 2020
• 15 January 2021
• 11 October 2021

The massive cocaine consignment was stolen in a burglary in November 2021.

SAPS AND STOLEN DRUGS

Four years on — broken protocols and DJ Sumbody killing claims circle R200m cocaine cop theft

August 12, 2025

Flynn, reading from the other police officer’s report on the situation, said that a previous site inspection at the Hawks offices in Port Shepstone revealed that “no CCTV premises cameras” were “installed in and around the premises”.

There was also no “early warning system” in the office area, and “no beam sensor located exterior of the office accommodation”.

‘Extremely reckless and irresponsible’

Flynn explained that the state of the Port Shepstone building was completely inadequate in terms of a mass cocaine haul being kept there, even though it was locked in a safe room. (On Tuesday, he testified about how the cocaine should have been sent to a Forensic Science Laboratory for storage.)

“You need additional layers of security measures to obviously make it difficult or impossible for individuals to breach that premises first and foremost, then to get access to the building, and then to execute successfully the bridging of the vault and the removing of the [cocaine],” he said.

“So additional security measures [are] critical. If that’s not in place, I’m of the view that it’s extremely reckless and irresponsible to place exhibits in such a strong room or a vault.”

Flynn said it would have been safer to have stored the R200-million cocaine in any police station that would be staffed 24/7, rather than in the unprotected Port Shepstone building.

‘National embarrassment’

He read from another police document while testifying on Wednesday. It appeared to be from Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, previously the Hawks’ national deputy head.

This document also bore the name of former national Hawks boss Godfrey Lebeya.

It said that the cocaine theft “embarrassed” the Hawks “and the country in general and left a huge blow on the trust that the public have towards the elite crime fighting unit”.

The document recommended strengthened security at the Port Shepstone building, including infrared sensors at the office area, upgraded perimeter lighting and engagement with a “a contracted armed response company”.

It stated that, based on “glaring security breaches”, it was not clear what made officers decide to keep the R200-million cocaine consignment at the Port Shepstone building.

Flynn’s testimony followed that line, agreeing that the cocaine should not have been stored there.

‘Compromised investigation’

“The crime scene management failings compromised the integrity of the investigation, and the subsequent theft of the cocaine […] severely compromised our ability to find the traffickers,” he said.

Flynn explained that “coordinated, intelligence-driven action across multiple agencies” and “embracing technology” were needed to tackle transnational trafficking.

“While enforcement efforts continue to disrupt operations, bringing the perpetrators to account is difficult due to the clandestine nature of the crime and the involvement of law enforcement officials and border control,” he said.

KwaZulu-Natal’s Hawks head Major General Lesetja Senona testified earlier on the Port Shepstone burglary and told the commission that someone who knew the Port Shepstone premises was involved.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga asked Flynn whether he thought Senona should have undergone a polygraph, or lie detector, test over the saga.

Flynn said he believed this should have happened because Senona “played an active role” in the Port Shepstone matter.

Senona was meant to testify before the Madlanga Commission again on Friday, 8 May, but this date was changed to 1 June.

Flynn concluded his testimony on Wednesday.

The previous day, while he was addressing the commission, there was an incident that indicated that traffickers are still operating in KwaZulu-Natal.

Police discovered a cocaine consignment worth about R13-million at Durban Harbour.

Buses had been shipped to Durban from a South American country and were destined for Gauteng.

In a statement, the South African Police Service said the cocaine was found “concealed in the air conditioning compartment of a bus”.

No arrests were made.

What next?

A new witness is expected to testify before the Madlanga Commission on Thursday, 7 May 2026. This testimony is expected to go into further detail about the Port Shepstone cocaine theft investigation.

DM