Thieves of R200m Port Shepstone cocaine are linked to Hawks bosses, says ‘exonerated’ cop

Policeman Karl Sander was previously told he failed a lie detector test over a R200m cocaine consignment stolen from Hawks offices in KwaZulu-Natal. Sander has now heard that the polygraph examiner made errors on his test, meaning the results are invalid. His belief is that the cocaine thieves were linked to Hawks bosses.

Warrant Officer Karl Sander says that the thieves who stole a cocaine consignment worth more than R200-million from Hawks offices in KwaZulu-Natal in 2021 were connected to the priority crime-fighting unit’s managers. He testified to this before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, 2 June, and said that “the links” between the suspected thieves and “the management are known”. Sander was attached to the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal.

And it was at a depot in Isipingo, KwaZulu-Natal, that the R200-million cocaine consignment was intercepted — months later, it was stolen from the Hawks building in Port Shepstone in what is now believed to have been an inside job. Warrant Officer Karl Sander testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on 1 June. (Photo: Frennie Shivambu / Gallo Images) The Madlanga Commission previously heard that the building lacked proper security measures. Sander testified before the commission on Tuesday for the second consecutive day, together with four other witnesses during proceedings that stretched into the evening.