CHC

Warrant Officer Perumal was approached by Colonel Jacob from DPCI who informed him about the recovery of a huge quantity of drugs from CHC containers in Prospecton, and the intention was to book it into the SAP 13 register, sign for it, and take it away without intending to store it at Isipingo.

“On the 22nd of June 2021, I was approached by Colonel Jacob from DPCI who informed me that they recovered a huge quantity of drugs from CHC containers in Prospecton, and they want to book it into our SAP 13 register and sign for it and take it away.”

Colonel Jacob admits that during his first visit to CHC, he assumed the area where containers were lowered was designated for that purpose but now understands that was not the case.

“it was my first visit to CHC . I assumed that was the area for placing containers . I cannot tell you why it was placed there ... I did not object to it upon opening it”

Ntuthuko Khuwayo was not a Customs official but a liaison person for CHC dealing with Customs issues; the witness mistakenly thought he was Customs initially.

“Ntuthuko Khuwayo was the Customs liaison guy for CHC... I think subsequently it turns out that he was somebody attached to the depot whose job was to engage with Customs... for now that is what is coming to my mind, that when I said Customs, I think at a later stage we realised, no, this guy is not really Customs”

There was no Customs official present when the seal was broken; the person thought to be Customs official was in fact a liaison for CHC, not a Customs official.

“T h e r e w a s n o C u s t o m s o ff i c i a l p r e s e n t w h e n t h e s e a l w a s b r o k e n . Yo u h a v e e x p l a i n e d t h a t y o u 10 h a v e s i n c e f o u n d o u t t h a t h e i s i n f a c t a a p e r s o n w h o i s a l i a i s o n f o r C H C , n o t a C u s t o m s o ff i c i a l”

Colonel Jacob acknowledges an error in his original statement about the presence of a Customs official during the seal breaking, clarifying the person was a liaison for CHC and not Customs.

“It is quite possible that while engaging with the , you know, it came out that this guy is not really a Customs official . He is somebody who works for the warehouse.”

When a container is detained for inspection, shippers can choose which yard the container will be inspected at, often with notification and booking for space, but container yards like Durban Container Terminal must cooperate by providing resources and facilitating quick unpacking and movement upon request.

“If a container or a set of containers is brought in for inspection, and then they get detained, let us say they get detained before inspection, they will then say, take them to this yard. There is a booking that I can accommodate them for you for this week. Otherwise they will go into a stack where they are paying cheap rental while it is being installed. So in this case, CHC or LCS or Grindrod, they will say to you, okay, I have got five spaces for five containers today, then in two days' time you can do the next containers for inspection ... the shipping agent or the shippers, they do say, listen, this cargo is going to LCS, the cargo is going to Grindrod, the cargo is going to CHC. They can choose that. But there are some instances where we know that, like Durban Container Terminal, there is relationships, I need a container check today, I will phone them, hey guys, I need a favour, can I bring a container to you quickly?”

The CHC Depot security and operations are cooperative with police operations, with access requiring collaboration with depot managers, and all operations comply with occupational health and safety regulations including CCTV monitoring.

“There is a process. We call the depot manager, which is CHC. CHC will then give us their operations manager to attend... they do it for you. Everything there, we do not move, they move. They do it all for you. They are very cooperative... the location where you are working, they are compliant in terms of risk and management, occupational health, so health and safety. The whole place is under CCTV. So we are actually being monitored by them in case something happens to us... we comply with their occupational health and safety to be safe... it is a happy relationship that goes to the conduciveness of solving the crime at our time.”

The crime scene at CHC is guarded by Metro and SAPS personnel and has security checks including a gate and controlled access.

“Before you can get in ... there is security at the front ... gate you go through ... check you in ... drive nearly 300 metres before you can get to the container stack ... I had Metro there ... SAPS there ... we were all armed ... I believe we are safe.”

Occupational health and safety for members conducting the crime scene investigation and access by all relevant role players are main constraints when conducting checks at the CHC location.

“The main constraint would be occupational health and safety for the members doing the crime scene, and access by all relevant role players. So you do not want to box yourself in.”

The geography and setup of the CHC warehouse do not pose fears of risk or attack during police seizure operations.

“You are able to say ... that CHC , its geography , its setup there , and what happens when the police run an operation there of a seizure , it does not pose any fears of risk or an attack that you can think of .”

The inspection and clearance of bone meal containers by the Department of Health happens at the container opening location, depot, or respective shipping company location such as CHC, Grindrod, or Maersk.

“As you open the container... If it is at CHC, at CHC. If it is at Grindrod, at Grindrod. If it is at Maersk, it is at Maersk. It is done right there.”

The cocaine found in the June 2021 bust would have been seen by the person opening the container as well as supervisors and Department of Health officials, implying they might have detected it.

“they would have presumably found the cocaine amongst that? ... It would have been the poor guy that opened that container from CHC. He would have been the first guy to see it. Then with him would have been the supervisor and the guys from the Department of Health. So the answer is in the end, yes.”

To intercept drugs undetected, the drugs would have to be taken before entering CHC, possibly when offloading the vessel, during container stacking at Piers, en route to packing areas or on the road; suspects could include stevedores, transporters, Customs, and police.

“They would have taken it before it got into CHC. ... So it could have been when it came off the vessel and put into the container stack alongside Pier 1, Pier 2 or New Pier. It could have been en route from New Pier to the packing area and it could have been on the road. So again, stevedores, transporter, Customs, police.”

The exhibit bag description includes forensic seals and documentation to ensure no tampering occurred from the crime scene to the laboratory.

“This description comes with the forensic seal on the scene. So it shows that I have not tampered with my seal from CHC... it shows the continuation from the crime scene and it will show the continuation to the laboratory.”