Warrant Officer Mbongeleni Felix Mpangase testifies before the Madlanga Commission, revealing his lack of experience in large-scale drug interceptions during the 2021 Port Shepstone cocaine bust.
A Hawks warrant officer told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday that he had never participated in a large-scale container drug interception before being assigned to the 2021 operation that uncovered 27kg of cocaine, despite specialist narcotics investigators being available.
Warrant Officer Mbongeleni Felix Mpangase, who was with the Hawks at the time of the bust and is now working on cold cases in Pietermaritzburg, was giving evidence before the commission investigating the theft of cocaine from the Hawks' evidence store in Port Shepstone following the June 2021 seizure when he described his role in the operation.
Reading from his affidavit, Mpangase said he was attached to the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit in Durban at the time and was contacted by Lieutenant Colonel Gavin Jacob, who asked whether he was available to assist with an operation after Crime Intelligence received information about a container believed to be carrying cocaine at the CHS depot in Isipingo.
