By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has confirmed that three illegal drug labs uncovered in Standerton, Mpumalanga, were producing mandrax and other narcotics.
Eight suspects were arrested, while 11 luxury vehicles and over R3-million in cash was seized in operations.
All suspects are in custody and expected to appear in court on 25 April.
Mchunu, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, visited the crime scene after a successful sting by law enforcement agents from the DPCI Secunda, Standerton K9, Standerton Crime Intelligence and private law enforcement.
Mchunu revealed that the labs were being run on farm, in a warehouse and in a house. He said a total of 11 luxury vehicles were seized. He said the police received a tip off about criminal activity taking place at the property last week.
“In this house alone we found a tablet, and a pressing machine which has been disassembled, but all the parts there are new, the machine would have been working and worth millions of rands. There is a generator and buckets which are yellowish in colour, which we found in all the sites,” said Mchunu.
He said police secured a search warrant before raiding the property.
We started at the police station and saw these luxury cars which are worth millions of rands…I saw the pictures of the R3 million at the same time. I had to rub my eyes… R3 million just in the boot of a car. This shows that these people were really in business and were getting a lot of money from their illegal operations,” added the minister.
Equipment and substances with an estimated value of R48 million and seven vehicles have been seized for further investigation by the authorities.
This whole operation is an indication that we need to increase our law enforcement capacity in order to achieve such results and more. This is one aspect which we as the SAPS are focused on.
Members of the public are encouraged to report suspicious activities to the police anonymously via the MySAPS app or by calling the Crime Stop hotline on 08600 10111.