DURBAN – Police Minister Bheki Cele has revealed that it has not been established whether the theft of the cocaine worth R200 million from the Hawks offices in Port Shepstone was an inside job.
Cele was responding to a parliamentary question by ACDP leader the Reverend Kenneth Meshoe.
Meshoe had asked Cele whether he had found that the preliminary investigations into the theft of cocaine worth more than R200m from the offices of The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in Port Shepstone was an inside job.
Meshoe also asked Cele whether the break-in was caught on closed-circuit surveillance cameras.
Cele said: “At this stage, it has not been established whether this was an internal job or not.”
He further stated that a case docket of housebreaking and theft was registered. The matter was under investigation.
However, last week, IOL reported that police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said: “I can confirm that police at Port Shepstone are investigating a case of burglary at a business premises. The matter is still under investigation.”
At the time of the incident, police spokesperson Brigadier Nomthandazo Mbambo said the thieves broke into the building sometime between November 5 and 7.
Mbambo said thieves forced open the windows.
“One of the safes in the office, which were used to store exhibits, was tampered with.
“The robbers stole 541kg cocaine drugs to the street value of R200m and ransacked the office where safes were kept.”
Deputy national head Lieutenant-General Tebello Constance Mosikili was appointed by national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya to conduct an inquiry into the theft.
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