Crime scene staged? Hawks official testimony on stolen 541kg cocaine puts spotlight on Senona
· Citizen
Suspended Provincial Commander for Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Brigadier Campbell Nyuswa, has told the Madlanga commission that the scene of the theft of cocaine from the DPCI offices in Port Shepstone may have been staged.
Visit turconews.click for more information.
On Wednesday, Nyuswa appeared before the commission, where he testified about the events leading up to the theft of 541kg of suspected cocaine worth R200 million in November 2021.
The suspected cocaine was seized on 22 June 2021 by Lieutenant-Colonel Gavin Jacob’s team at an Isipingo depot after intelligence pointed to a suspicious shipment.
The cocaine, packed in 27 bags, was taken to the Hawks’ Port Shepstone facility due to a lack of space at other police stations.
Nyuswa was suspended on 2 June on allegations that he failed to comply with legislation by storing exhibits at the Port Shepstone Hawks offices, which lacked adequate security.
He denied any involvement in the cocaine theft.
‘Not Senona’s man’
Nyuswa was quick to distance himself from suspended KZN Hawks head Lesetja Senona, whose name features prominently in the events leading up to the theft.
“There is an incorrect perception that I am General Senona’s guy. I suspect it’s because we were appointed at the same time to the province. When he was appointed the provincial head, our relationship was strictly that of a senior and a junior colleague. I have never been to his home, and he has never been to mine. I have never socialised with him outside work,” said Nyuswa.
“General Senona did not have much regard for me, but I was respectful to him as my senior. As the provincial head, he felt that he could bypass me and instruct my members directly without informing me.”
The call about cocaine theft
Nyuswa said on 22 June 2021, he received a call from Jacob informing him that the team had searched a container at Isipingo container depot and found 27 black bags containing bricks suspected to be cocaine.
“I told Lieutenant Jacob to ensure that all necessary and relevant aides were called to the crime scene. I did not have to tell him this because he is a well-experienced investigator, but it was just something I said at the time during the conversation.
“A while later, perhaps shortly after noon, Lieutenant Jacob called me and told me that the team encountered a problem at Isipingo. They would not allow the exhibit to be stored at Isipingo police station. He also told me that he had exhausted all avenues. By this, I understood him to mean that he had contacted the nearby police stations to store the exhibit and had been unsuccessful. I told him I would try to find space somewhere and I would call him back.”
That’s when he identified the Port Shepstone offices.
“What made the property attractive for the DPCI was that the landlord had informed us that those safes could not be breached. They could only be accessed with the key,” said Nyuswa.
“I was aware of the security lapse at the premises, such as the alarm not working after load shedding, but my main focus was the safe that could be used since it was very secure and could only be accessed with the key. I was also aware that hashish [compressed dagga] was stored in one of the safes until it was disposed of without any problem.”
Senona comes in
Nyuswa then called Senona, informed him of the storage issue, and suggested the strong room at the Port Shepstone premises. Senona agreed .
“General Senona also instructed me to instruct Lieutenant-Colonel Jakobus Prinsloo to get the spare key to the safe from the supply chain management. General Senona also instructed me to arrange for the provincial tracking team to escort the investigators from Isipingo to Port Shepstone, which I did.
“A while later, at approximately 15h00, General Senona instructed me to go with him to Isipingo to oversee the operation. I did not think this was untoward because it is a big drug bust, and there is senior leadership.
“Upon arrival, the exhibit had already been placed in the strong room, and I could see that they were still in their 27 black bags. I asked why the exhibits were not in their exhibit bags. I was informed that Isipingo Saps did not have exhibit bags, but that the exhibits were entered into the Saps and booked out again. This was a concern for me because, as an investigator, I knew that the chain of custody must be preserved.
“I accept now that once the team left the crime scene without the exhibit being placed in the exhibit bag, the evidence was already compromised.”
After the strong room was locked, Senona asked that both sets of keys, original and spare keys, be given to him.
“At the time, it made sense to me that the provincial head should take the keys because this was a big drug bust, and who better to have ownership and responsibility over the keys than the provincial head, especially since the safe could not be accessed without the keys,” said Nyuswa.
Theft of cocaine
In October 2021, while he was on leave, Nyuswa said he received a call from Prinsloo, who informed him of an attempted break-in at the Port Shepstone premises.
“For the first time, he voiced concern about the safety of the suspected cocaine exhibit in the stronghold. Although I was too concerned, I thought the drugs would be safe because General Senona had the keys and the safe could not be breached and certainly not without being detected.”
However, when cross-examined, Nyuswa took back the testimony that the safe could not be breached without being detected, as there were concerns about the security of the building.
The second break-in proved successful after the safe door was cut with what appeared to be a grinder to gain entry into the safe.
Ruse?
However, Nyuswa said he suspects the safe was ground as a setup to throw off police investigations.
“I must state that when I observed the scene, I was shocked that the safe had been breached, but more than that, I was sceptical that the safe had been breached by grinding the door,” said Nyuswa.
“I would have expected the DPCI investigators to have investigated the possibility that the scene obtained an expert opinion on whether the cut out that we observed could have indeed resulted in the safe being breached. To date, I am not aware of any such report being obtained by the investigators.
“The landlord told us that this safe could never be breached without a key. So that caused my scepticism. I suspected it to be staged because I was under the impression that those strongholds can never be accessed without a key.”
Nyuswa left the commissioners questioning whether he was trying to say the safe was opened with the key, which only Senona possessed, and that the thieves used the grinder as a ruse.