‘Corridor gossip’ named Feroz Khan as owner of R286m cocaine consignment, cop tells commission

Warrant Officer Steve Phakula, attached to the police’s National Intervention Unit, has come under fire at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry for making contradictory statements about a R286-million cocaine consignment.

During proceedings on Wednesday, 13 May, Phakula claimed that stories had done the rounds that the cocaine belonged to a senior Crime Intelligence officer, Major General Feroz Khan.

Khan previously faced internal disciplinary action over his presence at the cocaine interception, but was cleared.

‘Something smells off’

The Madlanga Commission proceedings on Wednesday focused on the cocaine consignment, weighing 715.86kg and worth around R286-million, that was intercepted on 9 July 2021 in Aeroton, an industrial area in Johannesburg.

Phakula was among four suspects who faced criminal charges for this.

The case against them was subsequently withdrawn.

Phakula on Wednesday testified that he knew drugs had been intercepted in Aeroton because he could “smell” cocaine at the scene.

But it was pointed out to him that the cocaine had been tightly wrapped in plastic and was inside canvas bags, making it unlikely that he could smell it.

Questioned by Madlanga Commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Phakula acknowledged that before the bust, he had never smelled the drug.

Madlanga put it to Phakula: “You’ve told many untruths.”

Questionable testimony

Aside from Phakula, the others arrested in the Aeroton cocaine case were Warrant Officer Marumo Magane of the Zonkizizwe police station in Gauteng; Samuel Mashaba, the acting deputy director of Gauteng’s community safety department; and businessman Tumelo Nku.

Testifying on Tuesday, Magane said he was the first officer to arrive at the site. While he admitted to contaminating the crime scene, he flatly denied allegations that he had intended to spirit away the R286-million worth of cocaine to evade the oversight of his colleagues.

Criminal infiltration fear

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is investigating accusations that a drug cartel has infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice sector, politics and private security. This week, it heard how police officers had bungled massive drug cases and may be complicit in transnational narcotrafficking.

On Wednesday, Phakula provided further details on the Aeroton incident. As with Magane, this did not go down well with the Madlanga Commission’s evidence leaders, who were sceptical about his version of events.

Detained

Phakula said he arrived at the scene in Aeroton after the cocaine was discovered in a shipping container (which had been transported from Brazil to Durban Harbour and then to Johannesburg).

He said that when he arrived, the bags containing the cocaine had already been loaded onto a bakkie.

Magane, who was using the bakkie at the time, insisted during Tuesday’s testimony that his only intention was to transport the cocaine, which had not been sealed in evidence bags, to a police station. However, evidence leaders challenged this narrative, suggesting instead that he was attempting to smuggle the shipment away before more police officers arrived.

On Wednesday, Phakula testified that the scene grew increasingly chaotic as additional officers arrived. That evening, he was detained alongside Magane and two other suspects.

Phakula said the release of a truck driver who had been arrested in connection with the cocaine was “highly suspicious”. After his own release on bail, Phakula claimed, a colleague contacted him with a message: Khan wanted a meeting.

Khan makes contact

Phakula said that on 15 September 2021, he messaged Khan, who replied and asked whether he could bring Gauteng Hawks head Ebrahim Kadwa to a meeting.

“I refused and stated I will not be comfortable with both of them,” said Phakula.

“At this stage, it was still not clear why Major General Khan wanted to meet with me, hence my discomfort with him bringing Major General Kadwa to the meeting.”

Major Generals Feroz Khan and Ebrahim Kadwa

Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan and Gauteng Hawks head Ebrahim Kadwa, who had also been at the Areoton scene, were recently arrested in an unrelated illicit precious metals case. They are expected back in court in Kempton Park in July.

Phakula met Khan the following day.

“I then went with him and got in the passenger side of his car. Major General Khan sympathised with me and explained he still did not understand why I was arrested,” Phakula testified.

Khan asked how the informer arrested with Phakula, who was identified as Nku during Tuesday’s proceedings, had accessed information about the cocaine consignment. Phakula said he didn’t know, but could facilitate a meeting between the two.

Then, said Phakula, “Major General Khan asked me who the drugs belonged to, and I told him that people say they belong to him, and he laughed.

“He told me that he could see that I was doing an honest job, and I requested if he could submit a statement, as there was a disciplinary hearing against me for the same case.”

Phakula said Khan never submitted a statement.

‘Gossip’ and contradictions

Evidence leader Sesi Baloyi SC asked Phakula how serious the information was about the cocaine belonging to Khan.

Phakula replied, “It was corridor gossip, Commissioner [...] casual chats among colleagues.”

He said members of the public had also said the same.

Wednesday's proceedings also zeroed in on a section of Phakula’s statement claiming the Aeroton crime scene was managed strictly according to police protocol.

This assertion stood in direct contrast to Magane’s testimony from the previous day, in which he admitted that the protocol had been flouted.

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Baloyi suggested that Phakula said the crime scene was handled according to police protocol to cover up for a colleague.

He responded, “A cover-up was not in my mind.”

Earlier this week, Hawks officer Colonel Francois Steyn also testified about the Aeroton cocaine.

He said that three years after the interception, it emerged that R55-million worth of the consignment was missing from a forensic science laboratory where the cocaine was stored. DM