South Africa: 'Whistleblower Suspect Broke Silence' On R200m Port Shepstone Cocaine Theft - - Hawks Officer

By Caryn Dolley

Colonel Gavin Jacob has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that in February 2026, a suspect approached investigators with details about a R200m cocaine consignment stolen from a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal, widely believed to be an inside job. Jacob's own role in the initial seizure of the cocaine is under scrutiny.

A suspect or informant recently came forward with information about a R200m cocaine consignment stolen from a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal several years ago, Colonel Gavin Jacob has told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

Jacob, attached to the Hawks and the commander of Durban's Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit, testified about this development on Wednesday, 3 June 2026.

(He was previously referred to in the commission as Govin and Gavin Jacobs.)

Jacob and a colleague, a Warrant Officer Mpangase, were the first police officers to deal with the cocaine that had been intercepted in Isipingo on 22 June 2021.

The consignment was stored in the Hawks building in Port Shepstone, which lacked sufficient security measures - it was stolen from the premises in November 2021 in what is widely viewed as an inside job.

MADLANGA COMMISSION | Colonel Gavin Jacob says he was unaware of the security issues at the Port Shepstone building, stressing he did not steal the drugs, and he had passed the polygraph test. pic.twitter.com/u1vvWTolLV-- SABC News (@SABCNews) June 3, 2026

Jacob had been on leave at the time information on the cocaine was initially picked up in June 2021, months earlier than the theft....

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