PORT SHEPSTONE, KwaZulu-Natal — A senior law enforcement official has admitted to knowing about critical security defects at the facility where a R200-million cocaine consignment was kept before its disappearance. While testifying at the Madlanga Commission, KZN Hawks Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa confirmed that he was aware of the vulnerabilities at the Port Shepstone offices, which housed 541kg of intercepted narcotics following a major June 2021 bust at the Durban Harbour.
The ongoing inquiry is dissecting how the massive drug seizure was stolen in November 2021. Shockingly, the illicit cargo remained in the strongroom despite a prior break-in at the exact same premises just weeks before the entire consignment vanished.
Brigadier Nyuswa explained that the decision to house the exhibits at the Port Shepstone location was made after Lieutenant Colonel Gavin Jacob briefed him on logistical challenges. Jacob had reportedly explored alternative police stations—including Maiden Warf, Brighton Beach, Durban Central, and Umbilo—before advising that the Hawks office was the only viable option. The commission also scrutinized Jacob’s erratic schedule, noting that he returned from leave without informing his superiors, briefly participated in the matter, and then immediately went back on leave.
Nyuswa conceded several procedural failures, including neglecting to cross-check whether other police stations outside his jurisdiction were asked to supply additional exhibit bags. He attributed this lack of oversight to the intense civil unrest gripping the province at the time, which forced him to rely heavily on Jacob as the primary investigating officer to ensure correct protocols were followed.
A major anomaly highlighted during the hearings was the use of a Hawks office rather than an official police station. Under standard regulations, an SAP 13 register—the official log used to track the condition, wrapping, and quantity of exhibits—is only permitted to exist at a designated police station. When questioned about the risks of storing high-value evidence in a building with known vulnerabilities, Nyuswa defended the decision by citing the robust nature of the internal safe. He stated that the facility’s owner assured him the vault could not be breached without the specific keys, which were held by Hawks head Lesetja Senona.
Despite this assurance, the physical breach of the safe has raised red flags. Nyuswa expressed skepticism that the thieves had simply ground open the heavy door, suggesting to the commission that investigators from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) should have explored the possibility that the crime scene was staged. He noted that, to his knowledge, no expert report was ever commissioned to verify how the cuts on the safe were actually made.
The hearings also touched upon internal police politics and perceptions of favoritism. Addressing rumors that he was unduly influenced by the provincial head, General Lesetja Senona, Nyuswa firmly denied the allegations. He clarified that his relationship with the General, who was appointed in August 2020, was strictly professional and that they had never socialized or visited each other’s homes.
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi pressed the Brigadier on his overall culpability, questioning why a senior commander failed to ask critical questions regarding the handling of the consignment. The commission is now weighing whether Nyuswa’s failure to properly oversee his juniors knowingly or unwittingly created the anomalies that ultimately facilitated the high-profile theft.
