Border Police

Mr O'Sullivan was a lecturer at the Police Training Centre and simultaneously conducted policing at the airport via a reservist unit he helped form, including members speaking different languages to impact crime at the airport.

“I was also carrying out policing at the airport in the Border Police . So there was a reservist unit at the airport which I helped form , which comprised of about 35 volunteer members , and I selected people that spoke different languages so that we could have some impact on the crimes that were taking place at the airport . But during the period in question here , I was the head lecturer at the Police Training Centre”

Colonel Jacob clarified he used the word 'deduced' incorrectly and that the warehouse staff resealed the container in their presence to maintain custody as they had the seal keys, not the border police.

“I deduced that one of the staff at the warehouse resealed the container with seal number ... The DPCI members on the scene did not have any seals with us ... It is for this reason that I - I do know if deduced is not the right word - that one of the staff at the warehouse resealed the container.”

Exhibit bags containing drugs valued at approximately 200 million were loaded into a marked vehicle used by border police members, with the priority to safeguard these exhibits.

“These canvas bags were then loaded into a marked vehicle utilized by the border police members. My main priority was to safeguard these exhibits, valued at approximately 200 million.”

There were not enough exhibit bags of required specification for the magnitude of the seizure, so the count of 541 kilogram bricks of cocaine proceeded with border police members' assistance.

“My membership had a few of the bags of the required specifications, but not enough for this magnitude. We proceeded with the count of bricks of Cocaine with the Border Police members. Mpangase was noting down the count as we progressed and assisting with counting also. Sibiya and I took photos of this process. The number of 1 kilogram bricks amounted to 541.”

A licenced depot is a depot that border police have jurisdiction over and which have agreements with shipping lines to take containers from ports to them.

“It is one of those depots that border police has - these depots have an agreement with shipping lines and after the containers arrive at our harbours, at our ports, they take them to these licenced depots that border police have jurisdiction over as well.”

Colonel Jacob was aware that licenced depots are contracted to shipping lines and border police has jurisdiction over them but could not name specific depots.

“Yes , I was aware that they are licenced depots . I could not name them , but I knew they were contracted to shipping lines and border police have jurisdiction over them.”

Border Police assistance was requested to help convey exhibits of drugs to the police station, and eventually they became part of the operation after this request.

“I just wanted to describe how did the Border Police come about to assist or to convey exhibits of these drugs to the police station. And it was upon my request. Eventually they were part of it , after me requesting assistance.”

The Border Police officers were not present when the actual container was placed and the lock was cut open; their interest was only piqued after discovering 27 bags at the warehouse.

“they were not present when the actual container was placed, when the photos were taken of it, the lock being cut open, according to my memory of that day, they were not present for that. It is only after us discovering these 27 bags that it piqued interest around the warehouse”

Colonel Jacob admits that the first statement he made, which was unsigned, included an error stating that Sergeants Mkhize and P Govender from ORS witnessed the breaking of the seal, while they did not.

“I did erroneously, I would think, Commissioner... When I looked at the statements preparing for the Commission, I saw that the Border Police guys did not, in their statement, state that they saw the breaking of the seal... So this is not correct, Commissioner.”

The DPCI does not have a formal memorandum of understanding or standard operating procedure for working with Border Police and Customs when conducting interdictions at the harbour or depots, relying instead on verbal agreements.

“There is nothing in place in terms of a memorandum of understanding between ourselves, Border Police, Customs... There is no formalised document that talks to how do we jointly approach these type of things. It is verbal agreements.”