South Africa: 'Embarrassing' R200m Cocaine Theft Was Eighth Break-in At Hawks Building, Cop Tells Commission

By Caryn Dolley

Before a R200m cocaine consignment was stolen from an unprotected KwaZulu-Natal Hawks building in 2021, the premises was broken into seven times. This has emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is hearing about suspected police involvement in the theft.

Why this mattersTestimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on 6 May 2026 delved further into lax security at a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal, from where a R200-million cocaine consignment was stolen in 2021. The theft is suspected to be an inside job.This testimony is important because it highlights how vulnerable a critical police building was to criminals and fits into what the commission is investigating - accusations that a drug cartel has infiltrated South Africa's criminal justice sector.

Criminals broke into a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal seven times over a decade before a R200-million cocaine consignment was stolen from there, meaning police were fully aware of the premises' vulnerability.

These details about the runup to the theft emerged at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, when Major General Hendrik Flynn continued his testimony.

Flynn heads the Serious Organised Crime Investigation component of the Hawks.

Flynn began testifying at the commission on Tuesday and explained how the R200-million cocaine consignment intercepted at an Isipingo depot in June 2021 was stolen from the Hawks building in Port Shepstone months later, in November.

He said the building lacked private security because of an expired contract and had...

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