Durban

Warrant Officer Mpangase was employed in 2021 as a detective within the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation based in Durban and was tasked to investigate national priority violence crimes including murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and bank robberies.

“I confirm that during the year 2021, I was employed as a detective within the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, based in Durban. I was attached to Serious Organized Crime Investigation Unit, tasked to investigate national priority violence crimes, which included murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, bank robberies, among others.”

Mrs. Hongwe Mp explained she was called to meet in Durban on 8 March 2026 by request through Londiwe Xulu, though it was not a direct call from Major General Khan.

“it was not a direct call between you and Major General Khan ... I received a call from PA ... Londiwe called me to come ... meeting on 8 March 2026 ... call was made by usisi Londiwe to me”

The meeting took place at 207 Montpelier Road, Morningside, Durban at the DRK Tactical premises, which are their offices.

“The meeting took place at 207 Montpelier Road, Morningside, Durban, 001 at the DRK Tactical premises, which is their offices.”

R60,000 was originally owned by Mr Nku but was intended to be reinvested with people facilitated by Mr Mphaswe, including a particular person in Durban named Mr Zamu Khuzwayo.

“The R 6 0 , 0 0 0 w a s m i n e , b u t t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g w a s t h a t I b y w i l l r e i n v e s t m e i n t h e p a r t o f t h a t a r r a n g e m e n t w h o w e r e f a c i l i t a t e d b y M r M p h a s t w e [ ? ] .”

Mr Nku asserts he was supposed to spend the R60,000 in Durban and was not meant to bring it back with him.

“The 6 0 , 0 0 0 p a r t , a c t u a l l y , I w o u l d h a v e c a m e b a c k f r o m D u r b a n w i t h o u t i t . I s h o u l d h a v e c a m e b a c k f r o m D u r b a n w i t h o u t i t , u n d e r n o r m a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s , b e c a u s e i t w a s s u p p o s e d t o b e s p e n t t h e r e , n o t f o r m e t o c o m e b a c k w i t h i t .”

MR NKU was in Durban when he informed Chief Mashaba of the Yellow Jersey truck developments at 7:30 pm, relying on sources at the destination rather than direct contact with the driver.

“Around about this time, I was in Durban... So I had my sources relaying the information... No, the driver, I never had any contact with the driver... So the sources would be at the destination and information relayed while I was still in Durban...”

The witness travelled to Durban without making a hotel booking or reservation, and spent a large sum of money on accommodation and tolls without prior planning.

“So you leave Johannesburg not having made a booking or a reservation. You drive all the way to Durban, and even along the way you do not make a reservation. So you will basically see how much you spend when you arrive in Durban.”

Mr. Nku returned from Durban to Johannesburg because he had identified actionable intelligence about a specific container, and his interest in other containers had concluded.

“my reason for coming back was upon identifying this specific container ... I had conclusive details on, information on, that I can pass something that I would deem as actionable intel ... you were no longer interested in the other containers because you had intel, verified intel, in relation to this one container. Your job in Durban was done ... You could come back to Johannesburg”

At the time of receiving information about prioritized containers, Mr Nku was in Durban area.

“At that point , I am in the Durban area .”

Mr Nku left Durban around the time the truck reached its destination and therefore did not consider trailing the truck necessary.

“I left Durban , I think it was around about the time when the truck reached its destination . So I would not consider trailing the truck .”

The team from Durban had challenges correctly recording blocks of cocaine and sealing and marking the seals appropriately.

“He states the challenge that the team that came from Durban was having with correctly recording these blocks of Cocaine and sealing them and marking these seals appropriately, and that is where he assisted .”

Based on device movement, Philipp Plein aka Tumelo Nku was back in Gauteng from 2021-05-23 after the suspected retrieval of container contents in Durban.

“The movement of Tumelo Nku through these devices indicated that he was back in Gauteng from the 2021-5-23 .”

There was a communication linkage between Tumelo Nku and a Yellow Jersey Logistics employee on 8 July 2021 when Tumelo Nku was in Durban.

“There was a communication linkage between Tumelo Nku and the Yellow Jersey Logistic employee on the 2021-7-08 while Tumelo Nku was in the vicinity of Durban.”

Cell phone data shows Tumelo Nku's movements on 2021-07-07 from Krugersdorp to Durban and on 2021-07-08 from Durban to Gauteng, indicating he was monitoring the container's movement.

“On map dated 2021-07-07 with yellow tower icons, it is when Tumelo Nku was moving from Gauteng to Durban. The icons start from Krugersdorp which is where Tumelo Nku is residing, and later was in the vicinity of Durban... 2021-7-08 is the date Tumelo Nku travelled back to Gauteng from KwaZulu-Natal. This indicates that Tumelo Nku was monitoring the container from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng.”

The speaker's team base is an office in Durban, Victoria Embankment, although the speaker has other offices throughout KZN.

“I have an office in Durban, but not in the provincial office. It is in Victoria Embankment ... I have got more offices throughout KZN. But there is one office in Durban, in Victoria Embankment”

In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), there are five Serious Organized Crime Investigation (SOCI) units located at Durban, Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, and Newcastle.

“In KZN there are five SOCI units. There is one in Durban, Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, and Newcastle.”

Brigadier Nyuswa conceded to oversight by failing to inquire with other police stations, especially in Durban, about storage capacity on 22 June.

“there was an oversight on your part . The first one was your failure to enquire with the other police stations, especially in Durban, whether they had storage capacity on the 22nd of June.”

Chief Mashaba received a call from Mr Nku on the 8th of July confirming the truck with drugs from Durban to Johannesburg had arrived, but Mr Nku did not provide any new information other than the truck's arrival.

“Mr Nku called you and said to you that there is a truck with drugs coming from Durban to Johannesburg … on the 8th , you told him to confirm it positively, and he did so the morning of the 9th of July… He did not give you any new information other than to say the truck is now in Joburg.”

Chief Mashaba required confirmation of the truck landing and truck details before acting on information about drug transport from Durban to Johannesburg.

“That the truck has landed, and if it has landed, give me the number plate, the details of the truck. That is all I needed from him”

Chief Mashaba acknowledged that according to Mr Nku, a truck from Durban to Johannesburg was transporting drugs, but questioned how Mr Nku confirmed this information.

“There is a truck coming from Durban to Joburg transporting drugs ... I do not know how he confirms that”

Chief Mashaba only knew that there was a truck coming from Durban carrying drugs and was asked for assistance, without any additional information about the drugs or consignment size.

“He said to me, there is this truck coming from Durban, it is carrying drugs, can you assist?”

Chief Mashaba says he was satisfied that the truck was carrying drugs from Durban and this knowledge was the reason why he acted on the information that the truck was already in Johannesburg.

“Yes, I was satisfied because at the back of my mind, the information I got is the truck will be carrying drugs from Durban.”

WITNESS I went to the scene after a WhatsApp notification about 23 bags of drugs leaving Durban for Gauteng, sourced from inquiry handled by the Commission's office.

“The reason for me to go to the scene with my member was because my member received a WhatsApp notification the previous day, the Thursday night, that there is 23 bags of drugs leaving Durban coming to Gauteng. And my member, the source was informing him in respect of the inquiry dealt with by your office.”

Chief Mashaba received a tip-off on 8 July 2021 about a truck traveling from Durban to Johannesburg allegedly carrying drugs, then confirmed and acted on the information on the following day (9 July 2021).

“Aeroton Drug Bust. On Thursday, the 8th July 2021, I received a tip-off from Mr Tumelo Nkuo of a truck travelling from Durban to Johannesburg, which was allegedly suspected to have drugs in its cargo ... On the following morning, February the 9th July 2021 ...”

Only one container, which came from Durban and ended up in Aeroton, was at issue for search, not three containers.

“we have one container that comes up from Durban and ends up in Aeroton, and that is the container that is at issue...”

Assistant Director Maphosho posed detailed questions to General Khan concerning the crime scene attendance, knowledge about the crime scene, the complaint, roles in the investigation, arrest at Booysens on case CAS 98/7/2021, charges against the suspect, information about the truck driver and cargo receiver, the origin of the drugs, and the outcome of case Booysens CAS 8/7/2021.

“On or about 9th July 2021 , did you attend the crime scene at Aeroton ? ... What was the role at the crime scene and throughout the entire investigations ? Who effected the arrest at the scene of Booysens on CAS 98/7/2021 and what was the charges brought against the suspect and what informed the charges ? ... Was the origin of the drugs ever established during your investigations ? What happened to the case in question , Booysens CAS 8/7/2021 ?”

The driver of the container found with drugs drove from Durban to Johannesburg without stopping at weighbridges, with an unlikely timeline indicating possible misconduct or negligence.

“The driver of the container that was found with drugs drove from Durban to Johannesburg without stopping at the weighbridges . The driver took the container at the harbour at about 13:30 and arrived at his company in Johannesburg at about 20:00 , which is highly unlikely for the truck .”

On 9 July 2021, while on official duty in Pretoria, Witness I received a call from Sergeant Phakula of the K-9 unit about a truck suspected of transporting 23 bags of drugs from Durban to Johannesburg linked to the inquiry.

“on 9 July 2021, whilst still on official duty at my office in Pretoria, I received a telephone call from Sergeant Phakula of K-9 Unit ... truck suspected of transporting 23 bags of drugs in the Johannesburg area ... truck in question was also from Durban”

The images and metadata from Mr Nku's phone include details correlating to the Aeroton drug bust, with truck tracking data showing movements from Durban to Johannesburg.

“this is what was found on Mr Nku's phone ... The headings say track and trace. I am assuming this is how Transnet tracks this truck from Durban to Johannesburg ... It has the details of the registration number, the time in, time out, and then it has details of where it stops and stuff like that”

Mr Nku's cellphone movements were tracked through cellphone towers and corresponded with the truck's route from Durban to Gauteng on 7th and 8th July.

“This is what was checked. Mr Nku’s cell phone, through the cell phone towers, was tracked”

On 7th July, the yellow tracking data indicates Mr Nku was moving from Gauteng to Durban, with stops in the Free State, before returning to Gauteng on 8th July.

“the yellow on the 7th of July must be coming down from Gauteng to Durban ... And Telegram is a social media app similar to WhatsApp and others ... looking at the maroon, there is a lot of circling around the Free State on the 9th ... So I am assuming there is a truck stop somewhere in the Free State where they spent some time before they got into the Gauteng Province.”

Images served in the gallery of Tumelo Nku on 7 July 2021 showed three black bags similar to one found in a black bakkie at Aeroton, and the cell phone towers placed him in Durban with the container also in Durban on that date.

“On 2021-07-07 there were images served in the gallery of Tumelo Nku of three black bags which looked similar to the one found in the black bakkie at Aeroton ... The cell phone towers placed him that he was in Durban and the container was still in Durban.”

The truck driver did not stop at weighbridges between Durban and Roodekop; it is inferred this was suspicious and possibly instructed by someone to avoid stops.

“because he was indicating that the driver did not pass through the weighbridges , so he drove from Durban to Roodekop without stopping at any weighbridges . And according to him , because of him doing that , he knew what was inside the container .”

Lieutenant Colonel Kwazikwakhe Goodenough Sibiya is a member of the South African Police Service attached to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Serious Organized Crime Unit SANEB in Durban.

“I am a Lieutenant Colonel in the South African Police Service with PERSAL number 70533318 ... I am attached to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Serious Organized Crime, Unit SANEB in Durban.”

Lt-Col Sibiya presented five sample exhibits to Warrant Officer Mpangase in Durban between June 24 and before July 1, 2021, who then handed them to Colonel Jacob the following day at the office.

“The five samples were with the investigating officer, Warrant Officer Mpangase. In Durban. ... He says to me tomorrow he will not be in the office in the morning, so he wants me to hand over these five samples and enquiry to Colonel Jacob. Then I took possession of the sample and enquiry, put them in my steel cabinet. The following day ... Colonel Jacob was present. Then the following day I handed over the enquiry and the samples.”

Containers with seized drugs arriving in Johannesburg or Durban are sealed and assumed sealed at point of origin, impairing local fingerprint matching as suspects are outside the local database.

“That container is sealed and it is assumed that it was sealed at point of origin... if LCRC uplifts any prints, they will not be able to match to anyone in our database because these are people out in Brazil.”

Colonel Jacob clarifies that moving the exhibits out of Durban was not mandatory and he did not suggest storing exhibits in an unusual or far-out location.

“I was not insinuating that now it must be taken to some far-out location that we have never stored exhibits at before.”

Colonel Jacob asserts that it is the duty of Brigadier Nyuswa, his immediate superior, to handle the crisis regarding the 541 kilograms of heroin requiring destruction.

“Brigadier Nyuswa, your immediate superior, who failed to escalate the matter and deal with it as a superior, including but not limited to bringing it to the attention of the DPCI national office that they have a crisis down in Durban regarding 541 kilograms of Heroin that needs to be destroyed, but there is no movement.”

Contrary to Colonel Jacob's assertion, there was storage capacity at Maydon Wharf, Durban, meaning storage space was available in Durban at the relevant time.

“there was storage at Maydon Wharf... it has been demonstrated to you there was”

Lieutenant Colonel Justice Jabulani Duma is the Unit Commander attached to the Multi-Dimensional Organised Crime unit in Durban within Crime Intelligence, KwaZulu-Natal.

“I am Justice Jabulani Duma. I am a Lieutenant Colonel in the South African Police Service. I am attached to Multi-Dimensional Organised Crime, Durban, Intelligence Collection in Crime Intelligence. And I am a Unit Commander in MPOC, Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.”

Warrant Officer Sander was subpoenaed to appear to provide evidence about drug busts including the Port Shepstone theft and other drug busts around Durban in that period.

“Warrant Officer Sander's name appears in many other instances related not only to the Port Shepstone theft but other drug busts that occured in Durban around that period, and so therefore we subpoenaed him to appear today to give evidence.”

Warrant Officer Sander was involved in multiple drug busts in Durban between 2020 and 2023 involving large quantities of Mandrax, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

“General Flynn had created table of drug busts that occurred in Durban... 5 February 2020 at CHC Depot, 547 kilograms Mandrax... 8 May 2020... 11 August 2020, Durban, 20 kilograms of Cocaine... 23 February 2021, 495 packages of Meth... 30 July 2021, Maydon Wharf, 1,000 kilograms of Cocaine... 28 November 2022, 60 kilograms of Cocaine at R & D Port... 13/10/2023, 228 kilograms of Cocaine at Dube Cold Storage...”

Warrant Officer Sander claims to have found large quantities of drugs (up to 200 kilos at a time) in storage depots and in shipments at sea before arriving in Durban.

“I was finding aton, 200 kilos, 00 kilos. 30 kilos at a time. I was finding it in a ship out at sea before it even came to Durban. I was finding it hidden somewhere.”

In some circumstances it is not possible to get LCRC to come out, for example 16 nautical miles out at sea where a shipment of cocaine was hidden in a fridge, which is a hazardous environment and they are not qualified or prepared.

“I was asked about a scene where fingerprints could not come out. 16 nautical mile out at sea, we removed a shipment of Cocaine out of a fridge... The fingerprint guys and the FSL guys are not qualified to go out to sea. They are not prepared to go and put their lives at stake and go 16 nautical miles out to sea... It is a hazardous environment.”

The FSL in Pretoria is the official laboratory responsible for the exhibits' analysis and destruction, and in Durban analysis it liaises with the KZN laboratory.

“It is FSL in Pretoria. ... And if the matter comes out of Durban, and it has a Durban analyst, then it would be also liaising with the KZN laboratory as well.”

Heroin in Durban is sold in distinctive capsules that serve as syndicate trademarks, which law enforcement should be aware of to avoid mistakes.

“Durban has a very unique method of selling Heroin. It is in capsules. The capsules are indicative to certain syndicates. It is a trademark.”

There was concern about interception of a consignment related to the Isipingo drug bust in Durban, as revealed by communication between Nku and others.

“the communication was a concern about the interception ... The Isipingo intercept ... Durban ... they wanted surety that this is not going to happen to this one. That was the main communication”

Communications indicate a worry about police getting hold of drugs during the Isipingo operation, and a request that such interception should not reoccur.

“it is only Threema encrypted message ... It was just a screenshot by Nku ... the text ... they are worried about what happened in Durban during June ... They are worried about what happened in Durban during June ... it was just saying it must not be intercepted ... concern ... the Isipingo one ... The Durban, which it was concerned.”

Communication relevant to the investigation was found on Tumelo Nku's phone including suspicious messages regarding a consignment and a photo of a Yellow Jersey truck from a ship arriving in Durban from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

“On the cell phone ... Tumelo Nku I found suspicious communication which says the police must not ... this consignment ... Durban ... a photo that shows it was taken from Apollonia ship that arrived in Durban from Sao Paulo, Brazil”

Lieutenant Colonel Maluleke was expecting a drug shipment from Durban in a container on 9 July 2021 and was called to the scene by Sergeant Phakula.

“Lieutenant Colonel Maluleke was expecting a drug from Durban with drugs in a container...I informed Sergeant Phakula to call Lieutenant Colonel Maluleke to the scene as well.”

Magane and Mashaba informed Mr Hardug that they were following information about a truck carrying a container from Durban that was suspected to be carrying drugs, but they were unsure of the quantity.

“We explained to him that we were following information about one of their trucks which was carrying a container from Durban and that according to the information at our disposal, the container was carrying drugs, but we are not sure about the quantity of those drugs.”

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.”

Custody and oversight responsibility of drugs left in the building was handed over to Brigadier Nyuswa, the Provincial Commander based in Durban.

“I handed the keys over to Brigadier Nyuswa. So him as the Provincial Commander, they have got control over those exhibits, not myself.”

Lt-Col Prinsloo was summoned on 11 November to Major General Senona's office in Durban and interviewed about the break-in by several senior officers including Lt Gen Mosikili and Brigadiers Nyuswa and Naicker.

“I was summoned to Major General Senona's office in Durban... I was interviewed about the break-in... Lieutenant General Mosikili conducted that interview... The other officers also asked me questions... I did tell Lieutenant General Mosikili that the alarm was not serviced and was not linked to a security company.”

General Flynn prepared a supplementary statement analyzing and comparing events related to 541 kilograms of cocaine seized since June 2021 with other drug busts and seizures in Durban during 2020 to 2022.

“in your supplementary statement in paragraph 1 that you prepared this statement to deal with the analysis that you conducted, where you compared the events that transpired relating to 541 kilograms of Cocaine seized since June 2021 and stolen from police custody in November 2021 and you do that comparison with other drug busts, seizures in Durban in the period 2020 to 2022”

In January 2026, General Flynn called for enquiry files concerning identified drug busts in Durban during 2020-2022 to determine if the June 22, 2021 seizure shows a pattern of irregularities or is an anomaly.

“In January 2026, I called for the enquiry files in respect of identified drug busts in Durban during 2020 to 2022 to see whether the 22 June 2021 seizure is evidence of a worrying pattern of irregularities or whether it is an anomaly”

The seized 547 kg Mandrax exhibits were booked at Isipingo SAPS and submitted to the Main Forensic Science Laboratory in Silverton on 12 November 2021, where it was confirmed to be Mandrax; the case is under investigation by Durban under a reference number.

“The exhibits were booked in at the Isipingo SAPS under a reference number. And then the exhibits were submitted to the Main Forensic Science Laboratory in Silverton on 12 November 021. FSL confirmed that the exhibits were Mandrax and the case was investigated by Durban under a certain reference number.”

Colonel and Warrant Officer Mpangase from DPCI were contacted to assist in inspection of a container that allegedly had 27 kilograms of cocaine, which was later corrected to 27 bags, not kilograms.

“both Jacob and Mpangase, they were based at the DPCI in Durban: “We were contacted and informed of the intelligence that had been received. They were requested to assist with conducting the inspection of the container which allegedly had 27 kilograms of cocaine at the time. It was not 27 kilograms it later emerged that it was 27 bags and not 27 kilograms.”

The 47 kilograms of Mandrax seized in Durban was booked into the SAP13 at Isipingo Police Station, with further details to be provided later in evidence.

“the Mandrax was booked into the SAP13 at Isipingo Police Station... will be attended to later on in my evidence”

More secure police station SAP-13 facilities in the Durban area would have been a better storage option if Forensic Science Lab had no capacity for the drugs.

“Any of the police stations SAP-13 facilities in the Durban area would have been more secure”

In February 2025, while still on leave, Brigadier Nkwashu's sister Fundiswa Nyangule contacted him to inform that she was coming to Gauteng to visit her husband Katiso Molefe in prison and asked for a lift from the airport.

“In February 2025, while I was still on leave, my sister, Fundiswa Nyangule, who... contacted me. She informed me that she was coming to Gauteng to visit her husband in prison... She asked if I could fetch her from the airport because she was coming from Durban... I agreed and I went to the airport and picked her up. We drove together to Groenpunt Prison.”

Brigadier Nkhwashu recalls being told that Fundiswa was married to the man she was allegedly marrying and that she was staying in Durban, suggesting he might have spoken to her but did not hear she was married.

“I remember knowing that I remember having been told that Fundiswa was married to that guy that you were talking about . And she is staying in Durban . So that could meant that , although I do not have a good recollection , but that could meant that I might have spoken to her , but I did not hear , what I could remember is that I did not hear from her that she was married to that guy”

Between 2014 and 2024, Fundiswa was being chased around Gauteng for unknown reasons which prompted her to move to Durban, including an incident of house robbery which involved changes of residence.

“between 2014 and 2024 , much as I do not remember how many calls we had , I remember that there was a moment when she was being chased around when she was in Gauteng . Which is what I thought , that is what prompted her to move to Durban . Because there were people chasing her around for what we did not know . Because at some stages she was - there was a house robbery and I was called and she moved from Meadowlands to Roodepoort sometime and then she moved from Roodepoort to Fourways and during that time I was on the case of trying to assist in protecting her”

Lt-General Shibiri explained he checked on Sergeant Nkosi during a police day event in Durban because he was worried about his safety riding a bike alone.

“we went to police day in KZN, in Durban. He came with a bike. I was flying. When I arrived, I phoned the whole night, he is not answering. So I was worried and he is driving alone, so hence I was so worried”