The owners of the Harding farm on which a major drug laboratory was discovered have failed to hand themselves in, despite a stern warning from police minister Bheki Cele.
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Last Thursday, the minister gave the owners 24 hours to explain how, and to whom the drugs apparently being manufactured on their property were being sold.
Narcotics said to be similar to Mandrax and reportedly valued at R150-million as well as drug paraphernalia were seized when the Hawks, crime intelligence and the Port Shepstone Tactical Response Team and K9 Unit swooped on the farm last Wednesday.
Two suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested.
Both have appeared in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on charges of manufacturing and concealing drugs.
Although the minister had warned more arrests would be imminent, to date no other suspects have been taken into custody.
He, together with members of the Port Shepstone crime intelligence unit, visited the farm last Thursday where he commended the unit for the hard work which led to the state-of-the-art underground drug lab being discovered.
Minister Cele said it was one of the largest drug busts in the country, with just the machines used to manufacture the drugs estimated to be worth some R2.1 million.
“Each machine makes about 16 tablets in two seconds … now you can imagine how many tablets are produced each day.
“This tells you that this is a well-established business.”
According to the minister, the farm had been purchased two years ago and had been registered as a sheep farm.
“We are told the owners bought only 10 sheep, which were used as a front to hide what was really going on.”
Minister Cele said the owners, who had recently bought another farm in Pietermaritzburg, needed to come forward and explain why they had bought a second farm.
“It’s suspected that the drugs are being distributed around the country, but to Cape Town in particular.”
Yesterday (Wednesday) national police spokesman, Hangwani Mulaudzi said there were no further updates on the case.
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