Hot seat: Hawks Lieutenant-Colonel Nkoana Joseph Sebola said the alleged drug bust had seemed suspicious because normal police reporting procedures had not been followed. Photo: Supplied

The Madlanga commission heard evidence this week about police complicity in drug trafficking linked to Brazil, amid chaotic scenes involving the Booysens police precinct, Gauteng traffic officers and the Hawks’ narcotics unit during an attempted theft of drugs.

Hawks Lieutenant-Colonel Nkoana Sebola told the commission on Thursday that he had received a call on 9 July 2021 from a high-ranking officer instructing him to attend to a report of drug activity in Aeroton, Johannesburg.

“Upon my arrival there were people at the scene. Amongst them there were police officers and employees of the company, Scania,” he said. 

The commission has heard that on two separate occasions in July 2021, there were two drugs busts — one involving 999kg of cocaine with a street value of R286m and the other 751kg of cocaine. 

The drugs were shipped from the Port of Santos, through to the Durban Harbour, then Port Shepstone Harbour and arrived at the Johannesburg automotive company, Scania.

Sebola said that during the R286m drug bust, more than 20 police officers had been present in marked vehicles, mostly from the Booysen police precinct. 

However, he had noted that only Captain Opthof from the Flying Squad had been in full police uniform. 

Hawks West Rand Commander Colonel Francois Steyn told the commission on Monday that according to witness statements, he had gathered nearly a tonne of cocaine that had allegedly fallen out of a shipping container police had been searching without a warrant. 

He said a representative from the automotive company had then called in the Hawks. 

Sebola repeated similar arguments Steyn made about the fact that drug-related cases should be exclusively handled by the Hawks. 

He said Sergeant Hanedzani Ndou had briefed him at the scene. 

“I then approached Sergeant Ndou and he confirmed to me that the person driving a black Nissan bakkie loaded with black sports [bags] was leaving and he then blocked him with [a] marked police car. 

“I approached the driver of the black Nissan bakkie who was seated in the bakkie and identified myself to him. He identified himself as Warrant Officer [Marumo] Magane.”

Magane testified on Tuesday, telling the commission he had arrived at the scene after a request for back-up from Gauteng traffic chief Samuel Mashaba. 

He had then called warrant officer Steven Phakula to join him. 

On Wednesday, Phakula told the commission that he had left after the head of Counter and Security Intelligence, Feroz Khan, arrived much later and dispersed the crowd. 

He accused Khan of attempting to divert suspicion by having them arrested. 

Khan was arrested on Sunday in a high-profile raid at his Houghton flat and appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Monday, alongside Gauteng Hawks boss Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa and director of Point Blank Security Tariq Downe. 

They face two counts of contravening section 4 of the Precious Metals Act and defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

Sebola told the commission that under instruction from Warrant Officer Rikhotso, Colonel Maluleke and General Kadwa, he had been  tasked with seizing the bakkie carrying the cocaine bricks from Magane so that the Hawks narcotics unit could take over the scene. 

“The reason why we were called to the scene [was because] … we specialise in drugs. Once they say drugs are involved, we are the team that can deal [with that] … When they say: ‘When you arrive at the scene, call the necessary people,’ we are among the necessary people,” Sebola said.

Various police units had disagreed over which team should arrest the driver and seize the drug consignment. 

The commission’s evidence leader, Thabang Pooe, said the warrant officers had attempted to leave with the driver and drugs even though the Hawks had arrived. 

Sebola said that from his interaction with Magane, he had deduced that his intention had not been to assist the police but to transport the drugs to wherever Gauteng
traffic chief Mashaba ordered them to go. 

“After all the introductions, I started with Warrant Officer Magane, who alleged that he got the information from his informant and he followed up with the information, together with traffic officer Mashaba, and later requested Warrant Officer [Steven] Phakula, who is based in Pretoria, to come assist.

“I asked him if he had tried to get back to his own station, since he is stationed at Zonkesizwe SAPS. His answer was that he did not think of contacting his own station,” said Sebola. 

Magane was arrested by Sebola at the scene and faced disciplinary action. 

He was later reinstated and reassigned in November 2023.

Magane told the commission that Khan had instigated his arrest as a cover-up and that there were rumours that the drugs belonged to the head of Counter and Security Intelligence. 

Sebola told the commission that Magane, along with Mashaba, Tumelo Nku and Phakula, had impersonated Hawks officers and attempted to flee the scene once the Hawks narcotics unit arrived. 

“I asked [Magane] why did he not mention his own station to Sergeant Ndou rather than lying that he is from Hawks. Still he could not give reasons why. 

“On the question of why they were chasing uniformed police [away] from the scene, his answer was that he was thinking it was his scene.”

Sebola said the alleged drug bust had seemed suspicious because Magane and Mashaba had not followed normal reporting procedure but had instead called their police friends to assist at the scene. 

The commission will begin concluding public hearings from 18 May to focus on the second interim report to be submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

The final Madlanga commission report is due in August.