Police Commander Denies Role in 2021 R200 M Cocaine Heist

A senior South African police commander has denied any involvement in the theft of 541 kilograms of cocaine from a state security facility in 2021, telling a judicial inquiry that investigators constructed a false narrative to implicate him. Colonel Gavin Jacob, commander of the Hawks' Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, testified before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday.

The cocaine, valued at over R200 million, was stolen in November 2021 from a Hawks storage office in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal. No arrests have been made in the nearly five years since the heist. Jacob told the commission he passed a polygraph test regarding the theft and bore no knowledge of it.

The inquiry is examining the handling of the drugs from their seizure in June 2021. Jacob described leading the operation on June 22 after being contacted while on leave. Officers discovered 27 bags containing the cocaine, concealed in a shipping container of animal feed at a depot in Isipingo. Jacob testified that the seizure presented immediate logistical challenges, as the Isipingo police station lacked the capacity and proper exhibit bags to store the large consignment.