A Hawks lieutenant colonel detailed alleged messages tied to a R286 million cocaine seizure during testimony on 14 May 2026. The evidence was presented to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry in relation to a 2021 interception in Johannesburg.
Lieutenant Colonel Nkoana Joseph Sebola told the commission that messages exchanged on an encrypted platform showed concern among those linked to the consignment. One message read: “If those containers r gone me and you are in big shit.” Another stated: “I am getting heavy threats.”
The cocaine weighing 715.86 kg was intercepted on 9 July 2021 in Aeroton. Four individuals including two police officers faced charges that were later withdrawn. Sebola also described a photo from the Apolonis ship that arrived from Brazil and references to an earlier seizure in Isipingo.
Earlier testimony from Warrant Officer Marumo Magane described how the drugs were moved at the scene without proper evidence handling. The commission heard that R55 million worth of the seized cocaine later went missing from a laboratory. Sebola is scheduled to continue testifying at a date still to be set.
