Pretoria businessman Lucas Legabe has been granted R50,000 bail in a case linked to the theft of cocaine worth about R216 million from the Hawks’ offices in Port Shepstone.
According to EWN, Magistrate Nonjabulo Moleele granted Legabe bail in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Legabe faces charges of housebreaking with intent to steal and dealing in drugs. He has denied involvement in the alleged theft.
Court Finds Legabe Not a Flight Risk
The court found that the State had not shown that Legabe was likely to abscond.
EWN reported that Moleele considered his family and business ties in South Africa, as well as the fact that he had not attempted to evade authorities in the years following the alleged crime.
Legabe was arrested on 7 August 2026, nearly five years after the cocaine disappeared.
The matter has been postponed to 1 December 2026 for further investigation.
The State told the court that more arrests could follow, while investigators are also awaiting a forensic report into Legabe’s finances.
State Witnesses Link Legabe to Theft
Prosecutor Zwelethu Mata told the court that two people allegedly involved in the theft have since become Section 204 State witnesses.
According to EWN, the prosecution alleges their statements place Legabe at the scene and link him to cocaine that was later intended for sale.
These allegations have not yet been tested at trial.
541kg Cocaine Disappeared From Hawks Offices
The drugs were originally seized at an Isipingo container depot in June 2021.
SAPS said at the time that officers recovered 541kg of cocaine worth more than R243 million.
Months later, the cocaine was stolen from Hawks offices in Port Shepstone. SAPS initially valued the stolen consignment at about R200 million, while current court reporting places its value at around R216 million.
The handling and storage of the drugs has also been examined by the Madlanga Commission.
Commission records confirm that 541 one-kilogram bricks were counted before the consignment was eventually stored at the Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime unit.