The drugs were produced in a suspected multimillion-rand crystal methamphetamine manufacturing operation.
Picture: iStock
Five suspects are expected to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court today facing charges relating to the manufacture and possession of illicit drugs worth R600 million.
The drugs were produced in a suspected multimillion-rand crystal methamphetamine manufacturing operation. The suspects, aged between 20 and 47, are two Mexicans, two Zimbabweans and one Malawian.
This follows a two-month investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), in collaboration with the South African Police Service (Saps), SA Narcotics Bureau, Crime Intelligence, Hawks Limpopo, the Special Task Force, Drug Enforcement Agency and Homeland Security into suspected drug manufacturing on a farm.
Additional charges
Provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Major-General Gopz Govender, said additional charges may be added as the investigation progresses. “This is the third clandestine drug laboratory to be shut down in Limpopo,” he added. Govender said the discovery has exposed a sophisticated, industrial-scale operation. “The operation uncovered a suspected clandestine drug lab oratory on a farm in Musina, Vhembe district, during the late hours of 20 August,” Govender. “We have struck at the machinery behind the drug trade.
“This R600 million 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. There will be nowhere to hide.”
Expert weighs in
University of Limpopo criminologist Prof Witness Maluleke said it is worrisome that Limpopo is becoming a drug manufacturing hub and nothing is been done by the authorities.
“No province is immune to this never-ending problem and the country should prioritise this scourge,” said Maluleke. Criminal law expert Cornelia van Graan said that while the work of police can be commended, the burden now shifts to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute the matter and secure convictions.
“It is good to see swift police action. However, it remains to be seen if these arrests will lead to convictions,” said Van Graan . “The courts are backlogged and the process is painstakingly slow.
“The real test lies in whether the state can produce convictions and whether the court imposes sentences that have a deterrent effect. Otherwise, drug producers and sellers will remain in business.
“They like to boast about their arrests, but it can take years for a prosecution to take place – if it happens at all.” Another big recent drug-related bust recently was the seizure of a consignment of cocaine worth an estimated R28 million at OR Tambo International Air port in Johannesburg on 31 July. Arrests have also been made of people in possession of crystal meth, cat and mandrax tablets. Drugs and two cellphones with a street value of R212 400 were sent from Pretoria with a courier. The Hawks in Mpumalanga arrested a 31-year-old foreign national with heroin estimated at a street value of R14 650.
