Massive drug manufacturing facility raided in Musina

A drug manufacturing laboratory has been discovered in Musina, Limpopo, police said.

The facility has an estimated value of more than R600m, according to a preliminary report.

Limpopo police commissioner Lt-Gen Jan Scheepers and officers from different units are at the scene.

The facility was used to manufacture crystal methamphetamine, known as tik in South Africa.

This is the third clandestine drug laboratory to be shut down in Limpopo.

The bust follows several recent raids on drug labs in rural areas across the country, the most recent in Swartruggens in North West in May.

Police spokesperson Col Avele Fumba said the operation was executed from the late hours on Thursday.

“Five suspects were arrested. Drugs and laboratory equipment with an estimated street value of R600m, and an undisclosed amount of cash, were seized.

”The breakthrough follows a two-month intensive investigation into suspected drug manufacturing activities at a farm.

“The discovery has exposed an allegedly sophisticated, industrial-scale operation believed to have been established for the manufacture of dangerous illicit substances destined for distribution,” Fumba said.

The suspects, aged between 20 and 47, are two Mexican nationals, two Zimbabwean nationals and one Malawian national.

The head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Maj-Gen advocate Gopz Govender said the operation sends a clear warning to organised criminal networks.

“We have struck at the machinery behind the drug trade. This seizure is not merely a quantity of drugs taken off the streets, it represents the disruption of an entire criminal enterprise.

“We will follow the money, the networks and every person connected to this operation.”