Scania

There were 11 containers to be received by the company Scania, with a specific container number identified for tracking.

“there were 11 containers that were supposed to be received by this company ... The vendor is Scania”

MR N K U gave a specific container number, believed to be the last three or four digits, related to the container expected for Scania.

“I gave him a specific number of the container ... it was the last three or four numbers that you had at that point”

The individual Mr Nku was investigating was a significant figure and close associate of a high-ranking official in the company Scania.

“This individual appeared to be a significant figure and a close associate of a high-ranking official in the company in question... Yes, the company Scania.”

Mr Nku became part of the entourage that ended up at Scania out of curiosity to see if the information he gave was correct, not to see the drugs being handled.

“I become part of the entourage . Not being curious to see any contents being handled , but curious to see that the information checks out .”

Mr Nku says if he wanted to be part of the operation, he would have done so from the start at Yellow Jersey, not joining later at Scania without prior discussions.

“If I really wanted to be part, then why not do it at the first instance? Why not be part where – because where I provided information, I am certain that everything is there inside, in Yellow Jersey. I should have been part from the onset. I should have went in with them. That is where I feel that if I needed or wanted to be part, I should have rather been part at Yellow Jersey, not after the fact at Scania. Because I never had any prior discussions regarding Scania. I was just told after the fact when moving out that we are going to Aeroton.”

Police officers presented themselves as Crime Intelligence officers to Jolene Wentzel at Scania, but Chief Mashaba denies having told them that they were from Crime Intelligence.

“They have introduced themselves as police officers from Crime Intelligence. ... No, people that want to defend themselves would say anything. So how do I say to a person, I am Crime Intelligence?”

Jolene Wentzel's statement describes police officers demanding escort paperwork for a container at Scania, which they did not have, leading to the arrest of Wentzel and others on suspicion of possession without proper paperwork.

“They told him that they do not have the paperwork. Clinton then told me that he told them to escort the container to the client in Aeroton and that is where it will be opened. ... The tall police officer further said that myself and Cornelius, including the driver, that we were under arrest.”

Police arrested people at Scania on suspicion of possession of drugs without proper documentation and acted aggressively towards those who called the police.

“The tall police officer asked very aggressively who called the police because now they are here to interfere with his investigations.”

Chief Mashaba went to Yellow Jersey premises with Mr Nkute and Mr Magane, got on the road behind the truck, and followed it to Scania premises where they conducted an operation involving opening a container that led to drugs being found and moved onto a van.

“you, Magane, went to Yellow Jersey property ... You enter that property, right? ... You then left the property following the truck. The truck left for Scania. You were behind the truck ... You all went to the property, I am right so far... You instruct the Scania people to open the container, the drugs fell out, and they were put onto a van.”

Upon opening the container at Scania in Aeroton, police found black bags containing drugs and started a search to secure and count evidence.

“When the container opened, black bags started falling down. At that point, we realized that the tip-off was indeed correct. There were drugs in those bags.”

IPID does not have the mandate to investigate certain criminal intelligence information provided by an informer concerning drug and firearm deliveries connected to a company called Scania in South Africa.

“I P I D did not have the mandate to investigate such : “ The informer received information through his sources about the drugs and firearms that were to be delivered in South Africa ... to a company called Scania in South Africa .”

A person working for Scania in South Africa was found to have been in Brazil weeks before a ship left, suspected to be connected with the investigation; that person later resigned possibly due to being leaked information from within the investigative team.

“The person was in Brazil weeks before the ship could leave ... he was in here when it arrived ... The person resigned ... there was somebody who resigned from that Scania during the period of this investigation”

Mashaba told the investigating team they were following up on drug information from Brazil to Scania, and mentioned a person named Tumelo who was later interviewed.

“they were just telling us that they were following up upon information about the drugs from Brazil to Scania... So we asked for the contact details of Tumelo so that we can interview Tumelo, hence, we interviewed Tumelo at a later stage”

Information from people at Scania indicated they were expecting three containers, but only one actually arrived at the premises to become an issue in this case.

“we get affidavits from people from Scania that were expecting three containers... only one came up to Gauteng to become an issue in this case”

There is no evidence to suggest that there were more than one container present at the time of the incident at the Scania premises for the dogs to sniff out.

“there is no evidence to suggest that there were more than that”

IPID obtained statements of independent witnesses including truck driver Brightman Vusi Mtembu regarding container details and events of 2021-07-08 and 2021-07-09.

“IPID obtained the statement of other independent witnesses , the truck driver , the lady who was about to receive the goods , and the manager at Scania . The first person is Brightman Vusi Mtembu , who was the truck driver . His statement , I attached the statement as T K 12 , indicated that on 2021-07-08 in the morning he was in Durban when he received a message from his company with the container details to be collected at Durban Harbour . He arrived at the Durban Harbour at about 18 : 20 . He inspected the container and the seal was intact . He then took the container and drove to Roodekop , where he arrived at about 00 : 20 . On 2021-07-09 at about 6 : 30 , he arrived at work and went to inspect the truck and found that the seal was still intact . He was about to take the”

The 1000 kg drug bust investigated was the backbone of the Aeroton case and involved weeks of work starting with interception of shipments containing various commodities changing over time (sugar, dog food, bone food, truck parts) linked to a syndicate controlling a road in Sao Paulo used for transport.

“This is what I think the Commission has seen as the Aeroton case... We began stopping sugar, dog food, bone food, then car parts... The syndicate owns that road. So they needed to find something in large amounts...”

The police were continuously interdicting containers from the shipper Scania to intercept narcotics loading in Sao Paulo, and complained that either the shipping company or their staff were involved in loading the cocaine onto the trucks or containers.

“we kept on interdicting their containers. And we were saying to Scania, your risk is in Sao Paulo, because it is in Sao Paulo that they are loading the Cocaine. So either you are doing it, your staff itself is loading it in the trucks, or when you release that container to the harbour, they are doing it.”

The LCS yard owners gave verbal consent and made space available for police to search their containers without causing damage to expensive Scania cabs inside.

“they had our working relationship and they consented to us searching their containers as well”

Upon arrival at a crime scene, there were police officers and employees of a shipping agent (not employees of Scania company) present.

“Upon my arrival there were people on the scene. Amongst them there were police officers and the employee of the company at Scania, but I was made to understand that company is not Scania, because they were just the agent responsible for accepting the ... shipping agent. In fact, they are just receiving any items on behalf of their clients”

Jolene Wentzel worked for the shipping agent, not for Scania.

“She is working for the shipping agent. Not for Scania.”

Elias Mosetla and Ntungwa were also working for the clearing agent, not directly employed by Scania.

“According to the information I received, those people I was informed they are working for the clearing agent”

Multiple people, including an employee of Scania and Major General Khan, placed Khan at the scene of the incident.

“even Khan himself places himself on the scene, but a whole lot of people place him on the scene, including an employee of Scania”

Drugs on the back of the bakkie fell from the container and were assisted by Scania employees who loaded those bags onto the back of the bakkie to preserve them, allowing space for the truck to reverse to the loading bay for forklift removal of truck caps inside the container.

“the drugs on the back of the bakkie fell from the container and they were assisted by Scania employees who loaded those bags onto the back of the bakkie to preserve them . Also , allowing space for the truck to further reverse to the loading bay in order to allow a forklift to easily remove the truck caps inside the container”

Four Scania truck caps inside the container were subsequently removed by forklift.

“the four Scania truck caps that were inside the container were subsequently removed by use of a forklift”

Police vehicles and security personnel from Business Park and Scania arrived at the scene and asked questions, which was a distraction.

“a lot of police vehicles started driving in . There were also security personnel from Business Park and Scania who came and they were walking and asking questions where we came from . Due to the number of police vehicles that were coming in , I kept on being distracted by people passing by towards the police van”

Police members who arrived in uniform did not inquire about the situation but stood with Scania employees and gave instructions themselves, which was improper conduct.

“Instead of coming to us and enquire what was happening , those members went and stood with employees of Scania . I requested Jolene to make copies of the way bill . ... a certain gentleman came and instructed the two Booysens police members to write their statements as he was now taking over the scene . I asked the gentleman who he was and that he should introduce himself as he already knew who I was . That member did not want to give his name and I told him that is not procedural to walk in a crime scene and start giving instructions . He said he is not going to listen to me and that General Khan was on his way”

Warrant Officer Phakula admits that he found the exhibits at the crime scene secured in bags and infers they were not stolen based on this and statements from Scania employees.

“I said the exhibits were still secured in bags... and my concentration was on the exhibits, the security, like they were not stolen... No, except for the statements of people of Scania as well as ...”

Mr Hardug informed the team that the truck was destined for Aeroton at Scania, Aeroton, but Warrant Officer Magane did not know the specific location of Scania within Aeroton.

“he said this truck was destined for Aeroton, at Scania in Aeroton ... but I did not know the place where this, the place where Scania is located”

The cargo container carrying drugs landed at Durban port and was destined for Scania, but was transported by a Yellow Jersey truck whose driver is employed by Yellow Jersey, not Scania.

“At Scania, we found a person... Ms Jolene Wentzel... she was working at Scania as a Warehouse Supervisor and she also confirmed that the container was carrying their stuff from Brazil... the container was a load for Scania... Then the truck belongs to Yellow Jersey... the driver of the truck is in fact employed by Yellow Jersey, not by Scania.”

The truck involved is a Scania truck, and the white panel is the front part of the truck, which is a complete structure without wheels and engine but with doors and windshield, needing assembly.

“Scania is a trucking company ... it is a complete structure but without wheels and engine, but the doors are there, only the windscreen and the axle, it still needs to be assembled”

ADV Khumalo disagreed stating the BMW was inside the Scania premises and near the scene, thus a problem for crime scene management as bags could be easily taken and placed in the vehicle.

“it is inside the Scania. ... It is near the scene of this major drug bust. ... this vehicle is there with you because it is accompanying you and Mashaba. ... is that not in itself a problem? ... bags can easily be taken and be put in the back of this vehicle. Do you see that?”

Warrant Officer Magane escorted a yellow Volvo truck from Roodekop to Aeroton; it was already parked next to Scania's loading bay and belongs to a different company.

“the Volvo truck that you escorted from Roodekop to Aeroton was yellow in colour... The one that we escorted was already parked next to Scania loading bay. These are two different companies.”

At the drug bust crime scene, many people including Warrant Officer Magane, Mashaba, traffic officers, and Scania employees handled bags with their bare hands which seriously tampered with the crime scene.

“A number of people, you, the traffic officer, Mashaba, Scania employees, all of you handle all of those bags with your bare hands. That is serious tampering.”

The arrested driver was employed by Scania and had the container sealed from origin (Brazil). No evidence the driver broke the seal.

“We established earlier that the truck belongs to Scania, and the driver is employed by Scania... container which has a seal to it ...”

Advocate Baloyi criticizes the poor planning of the operation by Warrant Officer Magane, highlighting failure to call proper law enforcement role players, use of an open bakkie to transport bags of exhibits, and ignorance of cameras at the crime scene.

“It was badly planned. That is why it was such a mess... You did nothing... no LCRC, no TRT to come and escort you... It is about ensuring that these drugs are properly processed... you put these bags in an open bakkie ... You did not know there are cameras at Scania... It is a badly planned thing.”

Advocate Baloyi alleges Warrant Officer Magane and Mashaba were middlemen in a drug consignment operation, did not call any drug enforcement role players, left before processing was complete, and lied about destination to Scania personnel.

“You so happened to be in the middle of it. You and Mashaba happened to be in the middle of it... you have not called a single role player involved with drug enforcement... no LCRC... no Booysens... they surprise you by arriving... You lie to them to say the drugs are going to your station... you lie to say they are going to Alberton... you are being untruthful about this... this whole operation was never... you would have played things by the book if there was intent... you had ulterior motives.”

The rip-on-rip-off method of drug trafficking, where narcotics are concealed inside legitimate cargo consignments and containers are tampered with en route, requires infiltration by corrupt law enforcement to succeed.

“narcotics are frequently concealed in so-called legitimate cargo consignments . This concealment takes place in the country of origin where those containers are packed . ... because of the issue that these containers move a lot at sea , there is a space left between the door of the container and the body parts itself ... The Aeroton case , for example , it was a container containing body parts for Scania trucks ... this drug consignment is then placed in that cavity . Duplicate seals are then manufactured and the container is sealed again ... this container is then placed on a vessel ... Then , as was indicated , this drug syndicates then have to employ some or other person within law enforcement ... so that they can try and stop this container from going its normal route to allow them to do the other rip-off ...”

At the end of July, the risk manager of Scania informed that a container with a lot of police interest arrived at the harbour.

“I got a call from, at that time, the risk manager of Scania and he indicated to me that there was a container that came into the harbour... at that depot, this risk manager indicated to me that there was a lot of police interest in this specific container.”

There was a developed trust relationship between Scania's risk management and the DPCI, which led Scania to specifically request DPCI assistance regarding the container case.

“Scania was happy with the way that we dealt with the Booysens, the Aeroton case. And there was sort of a trust built between the Scania risk-management people and the DPCI. So hence the call from their side and assistance requested specifically from the DPCI.”

On 8th July, Gauteng Traffic Chief Mr Mashaba enquired at the yard of the transport company about a container arriving after office hours, which was held until moved to Scania's premises the next morning.

“During the morning of 8th July... Gauteng Traffic Chief Mr Mashaba made enquiries at the yard of the transport company... so that container was there that evening... On the 9th of July in the morning, that container was then moved to the premises of Scania.”

Mr Nku contacted Mr Mashaba and other police officers for assistance on the morning of the 9th regarding a container with drugs.

“he contacted them on the morning of the 9th for assistance”

There was an unsuccessful attempt to search the container at Yellow Jersey because there was no search warrant, and the officials were advised to deal with Scania, the end user.

“there was an unsuccessful attempt to search the container ... the people at Yellow Jersey indicated to him that he does not have a search warrant”

Mr Mashaba and colleagues proceeded to Scania under police escort; however, no formal police escort accompanied the truck—only Yellow Jersey security personnel did due to discomfort with the enquiry.

“except for Mr Mashaba and company, there was no police escort per se. It was security personnel from Yellow Jersey ... that escorted the truck”

On 30 July 2021, members of the DPCI Durban followed up on information about possible smuggling of narcotics in shipping containers destined for Scania truck assembly plant in Gauteng. Officers found black bags suspected to be cocaine, but halted the process until LCR arrived.

“On 30 July 2021 , members of the DPCI Durban followed up upon information relating to the possible smuggling of narcotics concealed in the shipping containers destined for a major truck assembly plant in Gauteng , Scania . When the container doors were opened , the officers noticed black bags inside the container . As the officers suspected it to be bags of Cocaine , they halted the process until LCR arrived .”

On 30 July 2021, 999 kilogram bricks of cocaine were seized in Durban at the LCS Freight Logistics Depot inside a Scania shipping container containing truck parts from the port of Santos, Brazil.

“On 30 July 2021 , a tonne of cocaine … was seized in Durban at the LCS Freight Logistics Depot . The drugs were found at the back of a Scania shipping container containing truck parts . The container's port of origin was the port of Santos in Brazil .”