Hawks officer says flawed polygraph fuelled cocaine theft suspicion

Johnathan Paoli

Veteran KZN Hawks officer Karl Sander told the Madlanga Commission that a flawed polygraph test helped fuel suspicion against him over the 2021 theft of 541kg of cocaine from Hawks offices in Port Shepstone.

Sander returned to the witness stand on Tuesday morning for his second and final day of testimony, where he expanded on allegations that he had been targeted and victimised after raising concerns about missing drug exhibits and disrupting major drug trafficking syndicates.

He said the allegations surrounding the disappearance of the cocaine had damaged his reputation and ultimately contributed to his transfer from operational duties.

During proceedings, evidence leader Advocate Lee Seegels-Ncube read into the record an email she received from the KwaZulu-Natal Forensic Science Laboratory explaining the circumstances surrounding the polygraph examination.

According to the report, the initial assessment by the examiner indicated deception.

However, a subsequent administrative review found that the examiner