Five Arrested After Suspected Drug Laboratory Uncovered In Krugersdorp

Five people have been arrested after police uncovered a suspected drug manufacturing laboratory on a farm in Krugersdorp during an intelligence-driven operation.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said officers found quantities of Mandrax and ecstasy tablets at the premises.

“Five South African nationals who were found at the premises have been arrested,” Mathe said.

Senior South African Police Service (SAPS) officers were travelling to the scene as further assessments and investigations continued. Police said the premises remained an active crime scene.

The value of the drugs allegedly found at the Krugersdorp property has not yet been established.

Mandrax And Ecstasy Found At Property

Police said the operation followed intelligence that led officers to the farm where the suspected laboratory was discovered.

The exact quantities of Mandrax and ecstasy recovered had not been provided at the time of the announcement.

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Investigators are expected to assess the premises and seized substances as part of the ongoing investigation.

The five suspects are South African nationals, according to Mathe. Further details about the charges they face were not immediately provided in the supplied information.

Similar Laboratory Uncovered Near Hartbeespoort

The Krugersdorp discovery came a day after police in the North West reported the uncovering of another suspected drug manufacturing laboratory at a plot in Scheerpoort, near Hartbeespoort Dam.

Four people were arrested during that operation, while police seized four firearms, including a rifle and three handguns.

According to North West police, Hartbeespoort Dam SAPS Crime Prevention members received information about suspected illegal activity at the property. The information was subsequently shared with Brits Crime Intelligence and the Hartbeespoort Dam K9 unit for further verification and intelligence gathering.

North West police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh said officers found three women and a man when they arrived at the property.

“A search of the premises uncovered what appeared to be a drug laboratory, with processed drugs, a drug production mixture and equipment allegedly used in the manufacturing of drugs,” Myburgh said.

The suspects were identified as a 39-year-old Zimbabwean man and three women aged between 23 and 29.

Police said they face charges relating to possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, as well as the alleged dealing in and manufacturing of drugs in terms of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, 1992 (Act 140 of 1992).

They are expected to appear in the Brits Magistrate's Court.

Police Continue Investigations

North West Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Arthur Peter Adams commended officers involved in the operation, highlighting the coordination between crime prevention, crime intelligence and the K9 unit.

Adams said police remained focused on disrupting organised criminal networks involved in the manufacture and distribution of drugs.

Police investigations into the North West operation are continuing, while authorities in Krugersdorp are conducting further assessments of the suspected laboratory and the substances allegedly found there.

Authorities are also working to determine the value of the drugs seized.