Hawks commander, Brig. Campbell Nyuswa, said he knew about the security breach at the Hawks offices in KZN even before the R200 million drugs were stolen.
Image: Kamogelo Moichela / IOL News
KZN Hawks commander, Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa, has conceded that he was aware of security concerns at the Port Shepstone Hawks offices before the now-stolen R200 million cocaine was stored there, but trusted that the strong room would not be breached.
Testifying before the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday, Nyuswa conceded that concerns about security at the premises had been raised repeatedly long before the theft.
Yet he still authorised the storage of 541kg of confiscated cocaine at the facility, believing the drugs would remain safe because the keys to the strong room were under the control of KZN Hawks head Maj-Gen. Lesetja Senona.
"I thought the drugs would be safe because Senona had the keys and the safe could not be breached and certainly not without being detected," Nyuswa told the commission.
The admission came under questioning from commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, who asked whether Nyuswa had been aware of the security concerns before the break-in occurred.
Nyuswa replied that he had known about the vulnerabilities beforehand.
"Concerns were raised about the building, but it was not necessarily about the safes because no one would know about the safes," he said.
He acknowledged that the facility's alarm system frequently failed after load shedding incidents, creating significant security risks.
Despite this, he maintained that his confidence rested in the strength of the walk-in safe and the restricted access provided by the keys.
Nyuswa also pointed to previous occasions when large quantities of narcotics had been stored in the same strong room without incident, including confiscated hashish and mandrax tablets seized during a major operation in Harding in 2018.
The cocaine was stolen during the weekend of November 5 to 7, 2021.
Investigators later discovered that intruders had breached the compromised security system before cutting open the heavy-duty walk-in safe and making off with the drugs.
The theft was only detected on November 8 when officials arrived at the offices and found the safe breached.
Nyuswa denied being involved in the drug theft.
“I reiterate that I had nothing to do with the Port Shepstone theft,” he said.
Meanwhile, testimony before the commission has painted a troubling picture of operational failures surrounding the original seizure of the cocaine.
The commission heard that Colonel Gavin Jacob, commander of the Durban Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, committed a series of procedural and protocol breaches during the June 2021 drug bust at an Isipingo depot.
Evidence presented showed that Jacob cut short his leave to join the operation but failed to formally notify his direct commander.
He allegedly instructed officers not to cordon off the scene, did not call forensic specialists to process evidence, and ordered the drugs to be moved before they were properly documented and secured.
Despite becoming actively involved in handling the scene, Jacob subsequently returned to his leave.
The proceedings are underway.
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