Hawks investigate possible network behind 11 SA drug labs
JOHANNESBURG — South African police are investigating whether 11 drug laboratories discovered across the country are connected to a larger criminal network, following the latest raid on a suspected Mandrax manufacturing facility in Krugersdorp.
Five South African men, aged between 25 and 45, were arrested on Thursday after police uncovered a laboratory containing drug manufacturing equipment valued at more than R100 million. A firearm was also confiscated.
The discovery has intensified investigations into whether the laboratories share suppliers, financiers, property arrangements or distribution networks.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale confirmed that the South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) is examining possible connections between the 11 facilities.
Investigators are tracing the origins of chemicals recovered during the raids, identifying those involved in establishing the laboratories and examining ownership of the properties used.
Police have not yet established that the facilities are operated by the same syndicate.
The Krugersdorp discovery follows another suspected Mandrax laboratory uncovered near Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West on Tuesday, where four suspects were arrested.
A similar facility was discovered in Erasmia, Pretoria, in September, with equipment reportedly valued at more than R100 million.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni said authorities were also working with international law enforcement agencies to determine whether drugs manufactured in South Africa were intended for domestic consumption or export.
The investigation comes amid warnings from organised crime researchers that South Africa is becoming an increasingly important production centre for synthetic drugs.
Michael McLaggan, a senior analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, told Eyewitness News that sophisticated criminal networks were manufacturing methamphetamine in South Africa for export to lucrative international markets, including Australia and New Zealand.
He cautioned that the laboratories already discovered might represent only part of the country’s illegal drug manufacturing industry.
The growing number of discoveries has shifted attention beyond individual arrests towards the financial and logistical networks supporting large-scale drug production.
Investigators must now establish whether the 11 laboratories are independent operations or evidence of a coordinated manufacturing and distribution network operating across provincial and international borders.
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