Drug operation worth millions uncovered in Standerton: Here is what happened
The Standerton Advertiser joined members of the Hawks in a visit to the three crime scenes last week.
The police uncovered a massive drug operation happening right under the noses of the residents in Standerton.
Within the first week of April, they busted a warehouse where high volumes of chemicals were stored, a premises on a farm used for the sole purpose of manufacturing drugs and a house in Flora Park where numerous vehicles, money and other items were confiscated.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) in Mpumalanga, chemicals and equipment used in the manufacturing of drugs such as Mandrax, with a value of about R48m were seized.
The police also confiscated 11 vehicles, ranging from high-performance luxury vehicles to a truck and millions of Rand in cash.
Six Mozambican nationals and two South Africans were arrested during the raids.
They are Cardoso Missuque (36), Mandlati Beto (25), Antonio Maciya (19), Virginia Macamo (51), Justino Missuque (60) and Tito Matu (19) from Mozambique and Derick Govis (24) and Elias Mahlangu (38) from South Africa. A third South African, Elton Oliphant (44), later handed himself over to police.
The case against Govis was provisionally withdrawn, which means that charges against him have been temporarily put on hold or set aside, but the case is not necessarily closed.
This is often done when further investigation or evidence is needed or when a decision to prosecute is pending. It’s different from a full withdrawal, where the case is permanently dropped. The Standerton Advertiser and Nkosi and his team visited the three crime scenes last week.
The timeline
The influx of drugs and a growing number of drug users within the Standerton area in the past few months raised a red flag.
According to Nkosi, information was meticulously gathered, and leads followed up before the Hawks swooped in.
Scene 1: The warehouse
The warehouse in the Standerton industrial area where several chemicals were stored was raided on April 4. These chemicals, according to the police, might look innocent on their own but are the components needed for the manufacturing of drugs.
The police arrested three Mozambicans at the warehouse. A fourth Mozambican, described as the “recruiter”, was then arrested.
The warehouse, across from a scrapyard, looks like a normal office building behind a locked gate. The tattered police tape was the only clue during our visit last Wednesday that this place is, in fact, a crime scene.
Scene 2: The farm
The team advanced to a farm in Rooikoppen on the same day, April 4. Here, they discovered large volumes of chemicals and machinery believed to be used in the manufacture of drugs.
This included a pressing machine and 35 buckets filled with powder ready to be pressed into tablets. Another two Mozambicans were arrested on the spot.
The machinery confiscated included numerous industrial ovens, grinders, cooking vessels and pressing machine, stainless steel drums and gas cylinders.
With Standerton Advertiser’s visit to the farm, the building looked unimpressive and inconspicuous from the outside, bar the police van in front of a steel gate connecting a small house-like building made from cinder blocks to a shipping container.
Behind the steel gate is a large concrete square in the middle of three shipping containers.
A small passage through the container’s door to the right reveals the drug lab equipped with industrial ovens and other machinery.
Scene 3: The house
Govis and Mahlangu were arrested on April 8 at 18 Mahonie Street in Flora Park, Standerton. Oliphant turned himself in the next day.
The police confiscated money, cellphones, electrics and vehicles on this scene. With Standerton Advertiser’s visit to this house on May 21, the large grey house with its large gates inlaid with steelwork was abandoned.
Return to scene 2: The hidden drug lab
A laboratory underneath the original crime scene was discovered on May 14. Before the cleaning process could commence, the Hawks received information that an entrance to the underground laboratory was underneath one of the containers.
This entrance leads down the stairs into a dark and narrow passage that eventually opens up to a large basement of sorts.
Nkosi said machinery believed to be used in the illegal manufacturing of drugs, drums, and plastic containers filled with substances were recovered here. The basement floor was flooded when Standerton Advertiser visited the scene.
A syndicate at work
As huge as this operation may sound, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“We believe there is a syndicate at play with bigger fish to catch. We are slowly but surely moving in,” said Nkosi, not wanting to divulge too much information, as this will jeopardise the investigation.
Role players
Several law enforcement units worked together on this case:
• Hawks Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation
• Standerton Crime Intelligence
• Standerton K9
• South African Narcotic Enforcement Bureau (SANAB)
• Standerton Local Criminal Record Centre
• Forensic Science Laboratory (Chemistry)
• A private security company
The court
The Mozambican nationals abandoned their bail application in Standerton Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, May 21. Cardoso Missuque (36), Mandlati Beto (25), Antonio Maciya (19), Virginia Macamo (51), Justino Missuque (60) and Tito Matu (19) briefly appeared before Magistrate Sabelo Thembe in the A court.
They were remanded in custody until July 25 for further investigation. These foreigners are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, making and distributing drugs and being in the country illegally.
The bail application hearing of Elias Mahlangu and Elton Oliphant continued before Magistrate Thabo Mapope in the B Court, also on May 21.
Mahlangu appeared in absentia due to health problems, but his legal representative proceeded, as Mahlangu had already pleaded his case and his absence would not affect the outcome of the court’s decision.
The investigating officer, Warrant Officer Xoli Sibanyoni, testified in the State’s opposition to the granting of bail. The bail application could not be finalised, and the matter was postponed to June 6.
The pair are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, money laundering, possession of illegal substances, manufacturing and dealing drugs.
What stood out in this case?
During the court proceeding, several details stood out:
• The Hawks and the State believe a syndicate is at play
• Warrant Officer Xoli Sibanyoni testified about a truck found at a property in Standerton, allegedly belonging to Elton Oliphant.
The truck is believed to have been used to transport chemicals and products. E-Natis documents on this truck and several other vehicles are still being investigated.
• Elias Elijah Mahlangu had previously been convicted of drug offences. He was declared unfit to own a firearm, yet during his arrest, the police confiscated a licensed firearm in his possession. It was not locked away in a safe.
