In a recent operation, South African police raided a suspected multi-million-rand laboratory at a farm in Krugersdorp, seizing quantities of Mandrax and ecstasy tablets and arresting five suspects. The Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, valued the property, equipment, and drugs at no less than R100 million. The property was fortified with barbed wire, CCTV, and black mesh, and contained two press machines, indicating a large-scale operation.
This was not an isolated find, as it was the second laboratory uncovered in two days, and by police and media tallies, the eleventh. A day earlier, police raided a plot at Skeerpoort near Hartbeespoort Dam, arresting a 39-year-old Zimbabwean man and three women aged between 23 and 29, and seizing four firearms. The police have cautioned that the laboratories found so far may represent only part of the country's illegal drug manufacturing industry.
The country's role in the illicit drug trade appears to be shifting from a transit destination to a production hub, with a growing trend of transnational manufacturing. In July 2024, police arrested four people, including a farm owner and two Mexican nationals, at a Groblersdal farm where a laboratory valued at R2 billion was found. Similar operations have been uncovered in Mpumalanga and the North West province.
The head of US Africa Command, General Dagvin Anderson, has noted that Mexican drug chemists were found at 11 of 12 clandestine laboratories raided in Africa over two years. A former head of the Hawks has suggested that many of the Mexicans may have links to the Sinaloa cartel, although this remains a suspicion rather than a confirmed finding.
The Krugersdorp arrests and seizures differ from previous cases, as the suspects were all South Africans, and the product was Mandrax and ecstasy, rather than industrial methamphetamine. One researcher has suggested that Mandrax laboratories are producing for the local market, while methamphetamine feeds an export chain. The police are still investigating whether the facilities are run by the same syndicate and are examining possible links between the operations.
A key concern is the involvement of individuals who facilitate the operations, such as landlords and suppliers. The police are investigating whether the Krugersdorp property was rented, and Mthombeni has confirmed that the owner will face criminal charges. Industrial drug production requires a network of suppliers, facilitators, and sometimes officials who turn a blind eye.
The effectiveness of the enforcement effort is a topic of debate, with some questioning whether the raids are truly targeting the kingpins of the syndicates. While the police have made significant arrests and seizures, civil society groups are calling for more to be done to dismantle the wider networks behind drug manufacturing and distribution. The country waits to see whether the state will finally identify and prosecute the individuals who own the machines.
Key points
- The country still waits to hear the name of a major kingpin in the illicit drug trade.
- The police have uncovered eleven multi-million rand drug laboratories, seizing massive quantities of illicit drugs and arresting hundreds.
- The role of transnational manufacturing and Mexican involvement in the illicit drug trade in South Africa is growing.
