The Provincial police spokesperson, Thabo Covane, said the suspect was arrested on Sunday 12 March 2023 after he was caught in the Central Business District in Bloemfontein with a bag containing Mandrax tablets.

He added the team then requested the suspect's travel documents, which he claimed were at his residence. The suspect directed the squad to Tielmanroos Street in Olive Hill, which is in the Navalsig Police Station's area. Covane said the police discovered a clandestine drug laboratory in the backyard of the plot on Tielmanroos Street.

“One big pill press (pill-making machine), three gas stoves, a 14kg gas bottle, two big pots, blenders and several star etching tools were found in the makeshift laboratory. Unidentified powder, crystalised drain cleaner and ten litres of brown liquid, believed to be drug-producing and cutting agents, were found and confiscated. Seventeen packages containing Mandrax tablets and another open package, containing five-hundred-and-seventy-four tablets, were also seized," he said.

A case docket for manufacturing illegal drugs was opened at the Navalsig Police Station. 

Meanwhile, Covane said more charges – for the possession of drugs and an additional charge of being an illegal immigrant – were also opened at Park Road Police Station. According to Covane, the estimated street value of the clandestine laboratory and drugs is R930 000.

The suspect will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court soon.

OFM News