Madlanga Commission resumes hearings into cocaine theft
Madlanga Commission resumes hearings into missing narcotics, cocaine theft and alleged failures at Hawks facilities in KZN.
Black News 
The Madlanga Commission resumes public hearings this week as it investigates drug seizures and the disappearance of narcotics in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The latest testimony follows last week’s in-camera evidence from Witness H.
Commission examines drug storage failures
Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said the closed hearings examined how officials seized, handled and stored drugs at Hawks offices in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal.
The hearings also focused on the alleged theft of narcotics kept at the facility.
Michaels said this would be the final week of public hearings.
The commission will pause proceedings from 18 May 2026 to prepare its second interim report for President Cyril Ramaphosa on 29 May 2026.
Evidence revisits R200 million cocaine theft
Last week’s evidence renewed scrutiny over the theft of cocaine worth R200 million from a police storage facility in KwaZulu-Natal.
Hendrik Flynn, head of the Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit within the Hawks, detailed operational failures and questionable decisions that preceded the 2021 break-in at the Port Shepstone facility.
Suspects broke into the storage site in November 2021 through windows and stole 541kg of cocaine.
Investigators later discovered that the facility’s alarm system was not working at the time of the burglary.
Police subsequently opened cases of theft and business burglary.
Flynn told the commission that major drug trafficking routes often pass through OR Tambo International Airport, Lebombo Border Post and the Durban harbour.
“Bulk trafficking through shipping containers is usually undertaken by sophisticated syndicates,” Flynn said during his testimony.
Cocaine seizure moved due to lack of storage space
Authorities originally discovered the cocaine in June 2021 at an Isipingo depot after intelligence pointed to a suspicious shipment.
Officials later moved the drugs, packed in 27 bags, to the Hawks facility in Port Shepstone because Isipingo Police Station lacked storage space.
Flynn also warned the commission that organised crime and corruption in government and the private sector remain closely linked.
