Gauteng Traffic Police (GTP) chief Samuel Mashaba came under sustained pressure at the Madlanga commission as probing questions focused on his undisclosed personal ties to an informant linked to the Aeroton drug bust.
Mashaba, who is accused of attempting to steal more than 700 kilograms of cocaine, continued his testimony at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, on Thursday, 11 June, shedding light on the controversial 2021 Aeroton operation.
Aeroton drug bust
At the centre of the inquiry is his involvement in a cocaine seizure far outside his official mandate.
On 9 July 2021, Mashaba – including informant Tumelo Nku, Warrant Officer Marumo Magane, and National Intervention Unit officer Warrant Officer Steve Phakula – intercepted a truck at a Scania warehouse in Aeroton, south of Johannesburg.
Inside the vehicle, authorities uncovered 715.86 kilograms of cocaine concealed within legitimate cargo that had arrived via Durban Harbour.
The drugs were estimated to be worth R300 million.
At least 136.46 kilograms of the drugs later went missing from the forensic laboratory of the South African Police Service (Saps), in what is believed to be an inside job.
Hidden relationship comes into focus at Madlanga commission
Thursday’s proceedings focused on Mashaba’s connection to Nku, the man who alerted him to the shipment a day before the bust.
Evidence presented earlier in the week revealed extensive communication between the two, including text messages and shared access to shipping details.
These records showed knowledge of cargo that departed Brazil on 30 May 2021 and arrived in Durban on 11 June 2021.
Tracking data also placed Nku along the same route as the truck transporting the cocaine, while historical records indicated their relationship dated back to around 2019.
Despite this, Mashaba referred to Nku only as an informant in a statement to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) after lodging a complaint against Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan, Gauteng Hawks head Ebrahim Kadwa and other senior officials regarding his arrest in Aeroton.
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo challenged Mashaba, who is based in Sedibeng, over the non-disclosure of their relationship.
“You made witness statements to police after the July incident in Aeroton, and in all those statements, you described Mr Nku as an informant, as a source.
“Were you lying under oath? Because in all those affidavits, you didn’t describe him as a friend; you didn’t describe it as somebody who often gave you money when you were desperate for cash.
“So were you lying in all those affidavits when you said he’s just a source, he’s just an informant?” Khumalo asked.
Mashaba rejected the accusation.
“On this one, the role he played is he gave me information. I was not lying under oath,” he said.
‘He was funding you’
Khumalo pressed further, suggesting that Mashaba’s omission may have influenced how authorities handled the case.
“Do you accept that how Ipid and other institutions would have dealt with the information would have been different if you said, ‘this is a friend of mine who often gives me money. I have side hustles with him. He often gives me money to do renovations at my house. That’s the person I got information from’?”
Mashaba replied: “For obvious reasons, commissioners, if you say that as a law enforcement official, you are saying I’m being funded.”
Khumalo countered: “He was funding you.”
While the traffic officer defended himself, the commissioner went on to criticise the broader consequences of his actions.
“Your conduct is far more serious than that because as a result of your complaint to Ipid, police officers were investigated and they were charged.
“They were not dismissed, but some of them could have been dismissed.”
‘Genuine operation’
Khumalo further stated that the Aeroton case had caused divisions within Saps, particularly between general police officers, Crime Intelligence, and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as Hawks.
He added that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) viewed the matter as internal conflict.
“That’s how they characterised all of this and it starts with you giving information that is clearly false to Ipid because you were the main complainant in the Ipid complaint.”
Mashaba dismissed this view.
“No, I don’t agree, commissioners. I was very angry about what happened in 2021. I still am because that was a genuine operation.”
When asked about Nku’s source of income as the traffic officer asked him for money, Mashaba maintained limited knowledge.
“I just know him as a businessman. He is in business with Coca-Cola. That’s what I know of. What he is doing in Coca-Cola, I cannot tell.”
Cocaine seizure aftermath
Mashaba, Nku, Magano and Phakula were arrested by the Hawks on the day of the cocaine seizure operation and charged with defeating the ends of justice and drug dealing.
However, the case did not proceed, with the NPA provisionally withdrawing the matter in October 2022 before closing it entirely in early 2024.
The Gauteng traffic officer had testified that he was placed on a three-month suspension following his arrest, but indicated he still does not know the outcome of the internal disciplinary process.
He has since resumed his duties and, in December 2025, was transferred to a different unit.
As a result of Mashaba’s complaint, Ipid had recommended for Khan’s arrest over allegations that he had interfered with the Aeroton scene, allegedly to protect individuals linked to the drugs.
Khan, who is expected to testify before the commission next month, was ultimately cleared in a disciplinary hearing that was chaired by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in March 2025.
