Mandrax

Lt-Col Sibiya explains that a chain of custody issue over exhibits related to cocaine and mandrax was blamed on Warrant Officer Jooste after Lt-Col Jacob gave exhibits to Jooste who failed to deliver them to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

“Colonel Jacob had handed over the exhibits to Warrant Officer Jooste, and then Warrant Officer Jooste was supposed to take the exhibits to Forensics, and he did not take them ..... he also submitted a chain statement to say that indeed they received the exhibits from Colonel Jacob and forwarded them to FSL ..... meanwhile, the exhibits were not received and the acknowledgement receipt could not be found.”

Colonel Jacob questioned Warrant Officer Perumal's integrity because Perumal did not mention the prior incident concerning Mandrax storage when approached by the investigation team.

“But the fact that he remained silent on that and no aversion has been portrayed to the Commission... I take issue with that.”

There is a significant delay in disposal of drugs, exemplified by Mandrax which was disposed of only one year and nine months after seizure.

“The lab only managed to do a disposal one year and nine months later.”

Warrant Officer Sander led an operation on 5 February 2020 at CHC Container Depot, Isipingo, where approximately 570 kilograms of suspected Mandrax and Mandrax powder were seized.

“O n 2 0 2 0 - 0 2 - 0 5 , I h e a d e d a n o p e r a t i o n a t C H C C o n t a i n e r D e p o t i n I s i p i n g o . ... r e f e r s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 7 0 k i l o g r a m s o f s u s p e c t e d M a n d r a x a n d M a n d r a x p o w d e r w a s s e i z e d d u r i n g t h i s o p e r a t i o n .”

The substance causing members to get sick from the exhibits was Methaqualone, the active ingredient of Mandrax, emitting toxic vapour causing members to get sick and feel nauseous.

“Commissioner, it is Methaqualone. So, the active ingredient of Mandrax is Methaqualone. But some people will tell you it is the Anthranilic acid that actually gives off the vapour that is so toxic. It is not a pleasant smell, Commissioner. ... The smell is what we are talking about here. So that is what makes you sick. It makes you nauseous. It can give you heart palpitations. ... They did get sick. And that is, it is true, you do get sick.”

Clan labs manufacture Methaqualone and Mandrax; cocaine bricks are waterproof and wrapped in multiple layers to prevent detection by smell or narcotics detection.

“Clan labs deal with respect of Methaqualone as well. ... The brick is transported by road and sea. If it gets dumped into the water, it must float or be able to be recovered. It is worth a lot of money. Therefore, it is waterproof. I have dismantled many, many, many Cocaine bricks. It is layer upon layer upon layer of cling wrap, latex housing, condoms, and then again more, and then tape, and then again more, to stop the fume coming out of the box, if I can say that.”

On the day in question of the February 2020 bust, Warrant Officer Sander was contacted by a senior colleague from the SARS customs narcotics section about irregularities involving Mandrax being moved at the CHC Depot and he asked Metro Police Captain Greg Beavon for assistance.

“One of their seniors phoned me and he said he has got an issue ... there was an amount of Mandrax found at CHC Depot ... irregularities ... I called a colleague from the Metro Police, Captain Greg Beavon ... can you help me?”

On arriving at a customs depot, Warrant Officer Sander found a box with a torn customs sticker containing Mandrax tablets, identified by smell and visual markings, and was informed that a narcotics dog detected the narcotics in the box.

“I could see it straight away. It was Mandrax... I could smell it, because the bag had been torn... They said they had put a narcotics dog in... Tequila reacted therein seconds. It was positive...”

Discovered packing tape discrepancies in the bonded warehouse shipment led to finding additional boxes containing Mandrax, which were seized by police and processed with cooperation from the warehouse.

“I noticed on the box the packing tape in the shipment was different to the packing tape on the other side of the yard... I said, there is our boxes... And we did... and believe it or not, that is where the Mandrax was. So, we seized those boxes amongst that...”

At the 2020 operation, Marijuana was considered a safer drug in Umlazi compared to Mandrax, which was regarded as the biggest drug threat at that time.

“At that time, the biggest drug used in Umlazi ... was Mandrax ... I think Mandrax would have been pretty much a threat as well. ... That thought did not cross my mind. It is safe here.”

In this February 2020 case, someone from SARS was going to steal the Mandrax.

“So somebody from SARS was going to steal the Mandrax? Correct.”

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”

Previous drugs stolen at Isipingo in February 2020 were Mandrax, totaling 547 units.

“The 547 in February 2020 ... that was Mandrax”

Mandrax is compressed into tablets and packaged predominantly in thousands of tablets per package, similar in volume to cocaine when stored.

“Mandrax basically is tablets. So it is also compressed into tablets and then packaged predominantly in thousand tablets per package”

Seized exhibits of 547 kg Mandrax booked in at Isipingo SAPS armory, a police station known not to have capacity, and unclear why 541 kg of cocaine could not be stored there six months later.

“The exhibits, 547 kilograms, were booked in at Isipingo SAPS and kept in the armoury, the same police station that apparently is known not to have capacity”

The cocaine seized could not be stored at the usual facility in Isipingo unlike previous seizures of Mandrax.

“16 months previously 547 kilograms of Mandrax had been stored at Isipingo, all of a sudden 541 kg's of cocaine could not be stored there”