Hawks officer, Lt-Col. Kwazikwakhe Sibiya, has testified at the Madlanga Commission on Friday on the the drug bust in KZN.
Image: Kamogelo Moichela / IOL News
Hawks officer Lt-Col. Kwazikwakhe Sibiya has denied allegations that he was involved in a scheme that left R200 million worth of seized cocaine vulnerable to theft, saying he acted on orders from senior officers.
Sibiya testified on Friday at the Madlanga Commission about the handling of 541 kilograms of cocaine seized from the CHC depot in 2021, a case linked to the disappearance of the drugs.
The officer said the decision to store the cocaine at the Port Shepstone Organised Crime Unit was made by his superiors after storage space at Isipingo SAPS was found to be unavailable.
According to Sibiya, Colonel Gavin Jacob informed officers that Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa had been consulted about the storage problem and that the drugs would be kept at the Port Shepstone facility.
“Lt-Col Jacob indicated that he had informed Brigadier Nyuswa about the issue of unavailable storage at Isipingo SAPS,” Sibiya told the commission.
He said officers transported the cocaine to Port Shepstone, where senior police officials, including Gen. Lesetja Senona and Nyuswa, were present during the handover.
The drugs were unloaded and locked inside a walk-in safe. Sibiya said the keys were handed from the acting unit commander to Warrant Officer Mpangase before being passed to Senona.
His testimony follows allegations by Hawks head of Organised Crime Investigations Hendrik Flynn, who told the commission that Sibiya allowed the cocaine to be stored at a facility that was vulnerable to break-ins.
Sibiya strongly rejected the claim, insisting he played no part in any plan to compromise the security of the exhibits.
“I was not part of any scheme, nor did I engage in any process designed to make the exhibit vulnerable to theft,” he said.
“I was following the lawful instructions of my senior.”
He also denied allegations that he failed to ensure the cocaine was properly sealed and labelled.
On Thursday, Jacob similarly denied any involvement in the disappearance of the drugs.
But made several concessions including recording inaccurate information on the subject.
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