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.
Senior Hawks officer Colonel Gavin Jacob faces intense questioning at the Madlanga Commission after admitting to lying about the storage options for 541 kg of cocaine worth R200 million which was seized in 2021, raising serious concerns about police procedures
This followed evidence presented to him showing that Maydon Wharf, one of the Durban police stations, had the capacity to accommodate the seized drugs. The drugs were later stolen from the Hawks’ Port Shepstone storage facility, where they were eventually kept.
Jacob, commander of the Hawks’ Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, told the commission that he did not contact neighbouring police stations such as Durban Central, Brighton Beach and Umbilo, because he assumed they lacked storage capacity for his exhibits.
On Wednesday, Jacob testified that he reported to his superior, Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa, head of the KZN Hawks’ serious organised crime unit, that he had “exhausted all avenues” and “I have no storage space” after Isipingo Police Station’s Warrant Officer Perumal indicated the station had no capacity to store the seized drugs.
