During an intelligence-driven operation, police found a suspected multimillion-rand drug manufacturing facility on a farm in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, and detained five persons.
Officers discovered large amounts of Mandrax and ecstasy tablets at the location, according to Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, spokesperson for the national police. “Five South Africans who were discovered at the location have been taken into custody,” she stated. The location remained an active crime scene, and senior SAPS officers were en route to the area for more evaluations.
The Krugersdorp bust came a day after police uncovered another suspected multimillion-rand drug laboratory in North West. On Tuesday, four suspects were arrested and four firearms, including a rifle and three handguns, were seized at a plot in Scheerpoort, near Hartbeespoort Dam.
North West police said members of the Hartbeespoort Dam SAPS Crime Prevention unit received information about suspected illegal activity at the property. They shared it with Brits Crime Intelligence and the Hartbeespoort Dam K9 unit for further intelligence gathering and verification.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh said officers found three women and a man at the address. A search turned up what appeared to be a drug laboratory, with processed drugs, a drug production mixture and equipment allegedly used to manufacture drugs.
The suspects are a 39-year-old Zimbabwean man and three women aged between 23 and 29. They face charges of possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition, as well as dealing in and manufacturing drugs under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992 (Act 140 of 1992). They are expected to appear in the Brits Magistrate’s Court soon.
Police vow to keep targeting syndicates
North West Provincial Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Arthur Peter Adams praised the officers for their swift response and collaboration. He said police remain committed to dismantling organised crime syndicates involved in manufacturing and distributing drugs, and warned criminals that the SAPS remains “resolute and relentless” in the fight against crime.
Investigations are continuing, including efforts to establish the value of the drugs seized.
For now, details about the Krugersdorp suspects are limited. Police have not said when the five will appear in court or what charges they will face, though such cases typically involve offences under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act. Investigators are also expected to establish whether the two laboratories are linked, although police have not suggested a connection.
The back-to-back discoveries show police acting on intelligence to target suspected drug manufacturing operations in Gauteng and the North West, with the farm and plot locations suggesting that such labs may be set up away from urban centres to avoid detection. Both operations relied on tip-offs and coordination between crime intelligence, specialist units and local police.