The Hawks have conducted a sweeping raid at the troubled Newcastle Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal and confiscated electronic gadgets of senior officials and a large volume of documents.

The raid took over 11 hours, and at the time this report was compiled, the Hawks were still on site in the offices in central Newcastle, mining data from the computer servers of the municipality.

The IFP-run municipality has been in the spotlight after it was alleged that some politicians and officials were looting it using their companies.

According to sources within the municipality, the Hawks pounced around 9 am and that happened while the executive leadership was attending a strategic planning meeting in one of the upmarket venues in the town.

It is said that when they arrived, they cordoned off the offices and prevented all those who were inside from leaving and blocked anyone from entering them.

After that, they went straight to the offices of the Municipal Manager, Zamani Mcineka, and took his two cellphones, iPad and official laptop.

“They also took the laptops of the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), and the director for technical services. They did not end there, they also took documents and mined data from the servers of the municipality located within the buildings,” a source said.

Other sources said some senior managers heard about the raid and disappeared without a trace, fearing that the Hawks might come and confiscate their electronic gadgets.

The municipality is already being investigated by the SIU (Special Investigating Unit) for alleged looting which happened during the turbulent years of the ANC rule.

Both the Hawks and the municipality are yet to officially comment on the raid.