KZN Hawks Warrant Officer says he was unfairly implicated in missing cocaine investigation

By Johnathan Paoli

KwaZulu-Natal Hawks investigator Warrant Officer Karl Sander told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry he was wrongly treated as a suspect in the disappearance of 541kg of cocaine from a Port Shepstone Hawks office in 2021 while he was on leave.

The commission resumed hearings on Monday after a two-week recess during which its second interim report was prepared and submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week.

Sander, a veteran narcotics investigator whose name has repeatedly surfaced during testimony relating to major drug busts in KwaZulu-Natal, was called to testify about his involvement in drug investigations and his knowledge of the Port Shepstone matter.

Giving evidence, Sander said he found himself under suspicion after returning from leave following the theft.

“I was a suspect. I was called in. I was polygraphed for it. I was never there, that’s all I know about the Port Shepstone matter,” he said.