Hawks Colonel Gavin Jacob has rejected claims that he ever stole the R200 million drugs that were stored at the Hawks offices in KZN.
Senior Hawks officer Colonel Gavin Jacob came under criticism for issuing instructions while on leave, directing an investigating officer in a cocaine seizure worth R200 million to send drug samples to Amanzimtoti Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for analysis, even though that laboratory does not accept samples of drugs kept in safekeeping by the Hawks or other investigating teams.
This emerged during his testimony on Thursday at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, where he was scrutinised for his role in handling the drug exhibits that were eventually stolen from the Hawks Port Shepstone storage facility on November 8, 2021.
Jacob testified on Wednesday that he was on leave when crime intelligence officer Justice Duma called him to assist with inspecting suspected drug shipments at Durban Harbour on 22 June 2021.
According to him, he was booked in for the drug seizure operation, but he never got to claim back the day he worked. He told the commission that he then went back to his vacation.
