Police bust suspected mandrax lab in Soweto and arrest four suspects (PICS)
· Citizen
Police surveillance turned into arrests on Friday when law enforcement teams raided a house in Soweto, seizing drug-manufacturing equipment, chemicals and a large quantity of Mandrax pills for analysis.
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Gauteng Organised Crime Investigations’ Tracing and Narcotics teams, working closely with Police Emergency Services Flexi and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (DPCI) Serious Organised Crime Investigations, made a bust on a suspected drug laboratory in Meadowlands on Friday.
Four arrested as police raid mandrax lab in Meadowlands
Four arrested as police raid drug lab in Meadowlands, Soweto. Picture: Supplied.Officers arrested four suspects following the discovery of a suspected lab at a family residence.
The arrests come after the team received information about suspected illicit drug-related activities at the premises and conducted surveillance on Thursday.
“Further information received indicated that the suspects might be in the process of moving suspected drugs. The team subsequently proceeded to the premises, where four suspects were arrested,” Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said.
Four arrested as police raid drug lab in Meadowlands, Soweto. Picture: Supplied.The police discovered the drug-manufacturing operation in a room at the back of the house.
Muridili said the criminal record and crime scene management team processed the scene.
She added that the equipment and chemicals found at the premises will be seized for further investigation and analysis.
Large quantity of pills suspected manufactured elsewhere found on scene
Four arrested as police raid drug lab in Meadowlands, Soweto. Picture: Supplied.The police also found a large quantity of Mandrax pills suspected to have been manufactured somewhere else on the scene.
South African Police Service (Saps) has handed over the case to the DPCI, known as the Hawks, for further investigation.
The four suspects, aged between 21 and 25, are expected to appear before court soon to face drug-related charges.
Friday’s bust comes a month after the Hawks arrested two foreign nationals following the discovery of a sophisticated mandrax lab in Erasmia, Pretoria, allegedly producing about 800 000 tablets a day.
Four arrested as police raid drug lab in Meadowlands, Soweto. Picture: Supplied.Earlier on Friday, the Trilateral Planning Cell (TPC) welcomed Angola and Uganda to join South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania to strengthen collective law enforcement against drug trafficking and transnational organised crime.
Their inclusion aims to boost regional capacity to take on the growing manufacturing, trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs along the Southern Route and disrupt cross-border criminal networks.
Trilateral Planning Cell welcomed Angola and Uganda
Four arrested as police raid drug lab in Meadowlands, Soweto. Picture: Supplied.This week, the TPC Ministerial TROIKA Meeting brought together ministers, police chiefs and experts to share best practices and coordinate responses, building on successes since 2019, such as discovering clandestine labs, seizing illicit drug consignments and arresting suspects.
“The Ministerial TROIKA provides an important platform for participating countries to assess progress, identify operational challenges and agree on priority interventions,” Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia said.
“These include combating illicit drug trafficking, kidnapping, vehicle theft, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and financial and environmental crimes, as well as terrorism. We must strengthen the real-time exchange of information to ensure that our responses are proactive, coordinated and effective.”
A new cooperation framework was developed to facilitate direct police-to-police engagement, timely exchange of operational intelligence, profiling of trafficking syndicates, and improved detection of drugs at border points.