A retired police officer told the Madlanga Commission that a monthly security contract costing R593.56 lapsed years before thieves stole R200 million worth of cocaine from a Hawks building in Port Shepstone. The theft occurred in November 2021 after repeated warnings about inadequate protection went unheeded. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga described the situation as mind-boggling.
Jakobus Prinsloo, a former Hawks officer, testified on 7 May 2026 that the security contract with National Security and Fire expired in March 2020. The company stopped services in December 2020 due to non-payment. He said the alarm system at the Port Shepstone building remained unlinked to any response service.
Prinsloo added that multiple break-ins had occurred at the site over the previous decade. He warned superiors in January 2021 about the lack of security, noting that officers would only discover intrusions upon arrival. The cocaine consignment, intercepted in June 2021, was stored in an unsecured walk-in safe despite earlier decisions against keeping exhibits there.
The building had no generator, no internal cameras and shared a perimeter with other businesses. Prinsloo said the safe locks were ground off during the theft and the evidence bags were later found discarded outside. He confirmed that no security upgrades had been made by the time of his recent visit in May 2026.
Justice Madlanga remarked during the hearing that the failure to maintain basic protection despite known risks was difficult to comprehend. Prinsloo stated that senior officers should have known the premises were unsuitable for storing high-value confiscated drugs.
