Police arrested four people, aged 19 to 71, after raiding a suspected drug laboratory in Thabeng Section, Ramokokastad, near Sun City in North West on Friday 23 October. A fifth suspect fled and police have launched a manhunt.
Police believe the site made Mandrax and crystal methamphetamine, though forensic analysis has not yet confirmed the substances. The four are due to appear in the Mogwase Magistrates' Court on Monday 26 October on charges of manufacturing and dealing in illicit drugs. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The raid and what was found
Police acted on a search and seizure warrant after information about suspected drug manufacturing at the property, police spokesperson Constable Thuto Bobelo said. He said officers "discovered and seized a substantial quantity of items and materials suspected of being used in the manufacture of illicit drugs".
The items include generators, gas cylinders, gas stoves, cooking pots, more than 100 buckets, water tanks, chemicals, and 20 bags of suspected drug material, each weighing about 40kg, according to published coverage. One report puts the total at 800kg of drugs and chemicals. The value has not been given.
The suspects and court
The four arrested are two women, aged 71 and 24, and two men, aged 19 and 52. They have not been named by police. They are due at the Mogwase Magistrates' Court on Monday 26 October. A fifth suspect fled the scene.
A pattern of drug labs in North West
North West Provincial Commissioner Lt-Gen Arthur Adams commended the officers and linked this raid to "a massive R200-million crystal methamphetamine and gold processing plant" found on a Swartruggens game farm in May and a Mandrax laboratory near Hartbeespoort Dam earlier in October. He said police would continue operations against drug manufacturing and distribution networks.
In the Hartbeespoort case, police said on 6 October that four suspects, three women and one man, were arrested and four firearms seized. The value of those drugs had not been determined.
