South African police uncover multi-million dollar meth lab

JOHANNESBURG: South African police have uncovered an industrial scale meth manufacturing lab in one of the country’s biggest ever drug busts and arrested four suspects including two Mexicans, they said on Saturday.

The laboratory was discovered on a farm in Groblersdal, a small town in Limpopo province, the police said in a statement.

They found large quantities of chemicals used in the manufacturing of illicit drugs including acetone and crystal meth, with an estimated street value of 2 billion rand ($109.5 million), the statement said.

“What makes this different from other (seizures) is the involvement of Mexican citizens,” said Katlego Mogale, national spokesperson for the Hawks, an elite police unit which took part in the raid. “It means that our task has just become very difficult,” she told Reuters.

It is not clear whether the suspects were manufacturing drugs to distribute within the country or elsewhere, she said. South Africa is a major drug transit country due to its geography and international trade links, and also a growing market for synthetic drugs, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Methamphetamine trafficking in particular is on the rise in Africa, the U.N. agency said in its 2023 World Drug Report. Whilst the investigation continues, the arrested suspects will make their first court appearance on Monday on charges of manufacturing, dealing and possession of illicit drugs, the police statement said.