Colonel Gavin Jacob, commander of the Hawks’ Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, conceded that he lied about exhausting all avenues for storing 541kg of cocaine worth R200 million seized at the Durban Harbour in 2021.
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The Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry has questioned the involvement of Colonel Gavin Jacob, the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit commander in Durban, in the disappearance of cocaine and mandrax exhibits in drugs-related cases.
On Friday, the commission chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, heard the evidence of senior KwaZulu-Natal Hawks officer Lieutenant-Colonel Kwazikwakhe Sibiya, who was testifying on his role in the seizure of 541kg of cocaine with a street valued of around R200 million from the Durban Harbour in June 2021 and later stolen in Port Shepstone a few months later.
Commissioner Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC asked Sibiya about a case in which Jacob was the arresting officer, but it later transpired that there were no further exhibits in the docket in a case of possession of cocaine and mandrax.
“I’m trying to understand why this is something that (a Warrant Officer) Jooste will be charged and not, let’s say, Jacob, because he is mentioned here. On the reading of it, it seems to be an allegation is being made against Jacob that he took exhibits out and they never came back. Can you just explain that?” Baloyi asked.
In his response, Sibiya said: “I think Colonel Jacob had handed over the exhibits to Warrant Officer Jooste and then Warrant Officer Jooste was supposed to take them to FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) and he did not take them.”
He said that is why Jooste, who has since been dismissed from the SA Police Service (SAPS), had to submit a written statement indicating that he obtained the exhibits from Jacob and forwarded them to the FSL, but they were not received and the acknowledgment receipt could not be found.
Baloyi further queried: “Do you know if anything in this investigation looked at the roles of the different people that are mentioned, there’s that officer whose name I’m not mentioning (Dwarika), there is Msomi, there is Jacob, mentioned more than once. Do you know if this investigation looked at their roles?”
Sibiya said he was told that an investigation into the matter covered all the cases.
Baloyi continued: “Do you know if the provincial office looked at the conduct, whether there is anything wrong in the conduct of the individuals that are mentioned here?”
Sibiya responded: “If my memory serves me well, I think all the (SAPS) members that are mentioned here, some of them were just investigating this docket. The person who was mischievous here was that warrant officer.”
However, he added that he did not know for a fact that the other officers have been found to be innocent.
In his evidence earlier this week, Jacob told the commission that an informer/whistle-blower/suspect came forward in February this year and claimed to have been involved in the planning and execution of the theft of the 541kg of cocaine valued at R200m.
Both the national and provincial SAPS referred questions about the matter to the Hawks, who did not respond.
Jacob is no stranger to controversy. The Sunday Tribune previously reported in 2018 on a SAPS Crime Intelligence document examining drug trafficking and gangsterism in Durban, which alleged that senior members of the Hawks' narcotics unit were protecting drug kingpins.
Jacob, who headed the unit at the time, was reportedly under investigation for allegedly undermining investigations into one of Durban's most notorious gangs, the Bloods.
It was further reported that Jacob allegedly had a close relationship with the gang's leaders and may have compromised several major investigations.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s probe into Jacob started in November 2018 and was concluded in April the following year, but no evidence was found to support the allegations against him, which included corruption and defeating the ends of justice.
The National Prosecuting Authority also decided not to prosecute Jacob.
This week was another of high drama in the SAPS since the start of the commission last year after Component Head for Organised Crime, Major-General Richard Shibiri, was fired after being found guilty of misconduct.
This related to conduct that brought the SAPS into disrepute, including associating himself with a known criminal, controversial attempted murder-accused businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, from whom he had received thousands of rand, which he described as a loan to fix his son’s damaged vehicle.
Another nine senior police officers, who served as members of the bid evaluation committee in the tender process that culminated in the awarding of a now-cancelled contract to one of Matlala’s companies, Medicare24, were suspended.
The SAPS indicated that the officers have been placed on suspension pending the finalisation of disciplinary hearings and related investigations.