1 of 3 | Police in South Africa have seized crystal methamphetamine worth around $20 million at a lab on a rural property. Photo courtesy of the South African Police Service
Sept. 20 (UPI) — Police in South Africa have seized crystal methamphetamine worth around $20 million at a lab on a rural property, according to law enforcement officials.
Authorities also collected weapons and cash while dismantling the clandestine drug manufacturing operation, located on a farm in the eastern part of the country.
Six people were arrested, five of which are from a “North American country,” police said in a statement. Two other suspects were able to elude police.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the five foreign nationals in custody were in the country illegally. They are facing possible charges related to contravening the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act as well as the Immigration Act,” police said in the statement.
Authorities said they were led to the laboratory by an anonymous tip.
Two Mexican nationals were arrested last year at a meth operation at an unrelated farm in a rural area in separarte part of the country.
“This massive success demonstrates that cooperation between police in Mpumalanga and other entities, both government and private, is bearing expected results. Police are working hard to rid the streets of Mpumalanga of all types of drugs, and dismantling a clandestine drug lab, which is the source of these drugs, is a step in the right direction,” South African Police Service Maj. Gen. Zeph Mkhwanazi said in the agency’s statement.
“We applaud the community members who continue to work with police and provide valuable tip-offs. Intelligence-driven operations are ongoing, and we, as police, will stop at nothing in our quest to collapse the illicit drug trade.”