On Wednesday (13/5), drugs worth an estimated R100m were seized during a raid at an alleged drug laboratory on a farm in Brakspruit. Eleven suspects, including Mexican, Mozambican, and Zimbabwean nationals, as well as a woman, were arrested during the operation.

The latest bust follows another significant operation conducted by the Hawks in December, when six suspects were arrested after a multimillion-rand clandestine drug laboratory was uncovered in Makapanstad.

Law enforcement authorities are focusing on dismantling drug manufacturing networks rather than only targeting street-level dealers, said community safety and transport management MEC Wessels Morweng.

“The strategy from police and politicians has always been to outroot criminality and, importantly, where the drugs are being produced,” said Morweng.

“I’m excited because we targeted where they are being manufactured. It can’t be that we are chasing those in the streets, secondary to the pyramid. We need to ensure we outroot where it has been happening, but quite importantly, we need to highlight the fact that at the center or at the helm of these operations are foreign nationals.”

 “I think we need to speak the truth as politicians in the country, we are confronted with serious problems of foreign nationals in this country, undocumented that are seriously causing harm to our country,” he added.

Morweng emphasised that although South Africa shares borders with neighbouring SADC countries, authorities need to adopt extraordinary measures to address undocumented immigration linked to criminal activity.

He mentioned another major case in Zeerust last year, where drugs worth about R32m were seized, and undocumented foreign nationals were allegedly involved. The MEC also praised community members for alerting police to suspicious activities taking place at farms where drugs are allegedly being produced.

“What is also significant about this type of bust is that the community alerted police after (seeing) suspicious males. Again, as a public representative, I’m making a call to the community that they need to continue working hand in glove with the police; those are our ears and eyes on the ground,” he said.

Morweng warned that drugs remain one of the biggest contributors to crime in communities, adding that substance abuse is destroying the future of young people while placing additional pressure on the country’s healthcare system.

Last week alone, police arrested 208 suspects for dealing in drugs and a further 2,573 suspects for possession of drugs during operations conducted across the country.

 OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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