Two people were arrested at what police minister Bheki Cele described as a state-of-the-art underground drug lab in Harding earlier today (Thursday).
And more arrests are imminent in this drug bust operation, the minister warned.
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The lab had reportedly been manufacturing large quantities of narcotics resembling mandrax, and other paraphernalia.
- Police minister Bheki Cele at the underground lab in Harding.
Minister Cele said it was one of the biggest drug busts in the country to date.
This was during a site visit with members of the Port Shepstone crime intelligence unit today (Wednesday).
He said machines found in the drug lab were valued at R2.1 million each. Several other machines had recently been bought.
“Each machine makes about 16 tablets in two seconds … now you can imagine how much is made per day; this tells you that this is a well established business,” he said.
According to the minister, the drug lab had been operating at a farm which had been purchased two years ago.
The owners of the farm only bought 10 sheep which were used as a front to hide what was really going on.
The owners of the lab were given 24 hours by Minister Cele to hand themselves in and also to explain why they had bought a second farm.
“It’s suspected that the drugs are being distributed to Cape Town in particular, but also to other parts of the country,” he said.
The owners of the farm are said to have recently purchased another farm in the Pietermaritzburg area which was also being investigated by police.
“We suspect the farm could also have been purchased to create another drug lab.”
Minister Cele said drugs and substance abuse was a serious problem and vowed to clamp down on drug factories, one by one.
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