Police have seized a luxury yacht worth R16m and arrested two men linked to a suspected cocaine smuggling operation run out of Cape Town’s upmarket Victoria & Alfred Waterfront marina.
The 60ft Ke Nako, now abandoned at its mooring in the marina, forms part of an investigation into a R400m drug bust in which 805kg of cocaine was found stashed in a ski-boat being towed on a Gauteng freeway.
Four vessels linked to the case have now been seized and eight suspects have been arrested, the Hawks said.
“On July 1 Hawks investigators arrested two suspects on the [ski-boat] case where 805kg of cocaine valued over R400m was seized along the N1 Pretoria in June 2021,” said Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo.
“This brings the total to eight suspects arrested thus far. The two latest suspects are linked to the Ke Nako yacht.” It is unclear in what capacity — as crew, owners or other — the two suspects are linked to the yacht, which is suspected to have been used to transport cocaine along with a second vessel.
Two months ago a whole forensic team was down here, a whole team with dogs. I don’t know what has happened since then
— Maritime source
The other vessel — a fishing boat — was also seized by the Hawks and both are now under preservation application, Mbambo said. The suspects have been remanded in custody to October 3.
The Sunday Times has established that the SA-built catamaran, now berthed directly opposite the multimillion-rand apartments overlooking the marina, was sold to foreign buyers two years ago.
V&A Waterfront spokesperson Donald Kau said: “We are co-operating with the investigation. We are not in a position to provide any more detail at this point.”
Sources with knowledge of the boat said it was not known to have moved from its mooring except for a few days when it disappeared from the marina. However, there is no official record of the vessel having left SA waters over the past two years.
At one stage the V&A tried to arrest the vessel due to unpaid fees, estimated to be between R500,000 and R1m.
A maritime source, who asked not to be named, said: “Two months ago a whole forensic team was down here, a whole team with dogs. I don’t know what has happened since then.”
The V&A marina is a world-renowned yachting basin for luxury motor yachts and sailing vessels. It is also used as a springboard for commissioning new Cape Town-built luxury catamarans that are then shipped or sailed to overseas buyers.
One boating source said it was a mystery how a drug syndicate could have operated out of such a highly visible marina.
“It was parked in its berth right in front of all the apartments overlooking the marina. How they moved many kilograms of whatever off the boat with cameras there, I still find it unbelievable. But maybe if you do it so blatantly you get away with it,” he said.
“[The syndicate] must have been huge if they could just dump a $1m boat and leave.”
The vessel was built by one of SA's top yards, Nexus Yachts, in St Francis Bay. It is one of only a handful of Nexus 600 catamarans in existence and was commissioned in 2013 by the late Hout Bay businessman Alan Harrington, a stalwart of the Hout Bay Yacht Club.
Ke Nako — “It is time” in Sotho — is being maintained using preservation funds linked to the attachment order.
Its abandoned state is in stark contrast to its star status several years ago when the yacht featured in a local yachting blog.
“Overall, this is one boat you can live on, with all home comforts and then some,” said writer Justin Philips. “I couldn’t think of a nicer place to be. Plus she sails really well, and has the quality you expect for an investment of this nature. For chartering and excursions, I can’t imagine better.
“Ke Nako has now done a few months cruising the Mozambique cost around Pemba Bay and vicinity, and has done some honest service as a fishing and diving platform, seaside hotel and passagemaker,” Philips said.
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