South Africa Police Dismantle $20 Million Meth Operation

South African police have uncovered a large-scale crystal meth lab on a farm in Volksrust, eastern South Africa, seizing drugs valued at $20 million (£15 million).

Five suspects from a North American country were arrested during the raid, while two others, believed to be from West Africa, fled the scene, police said in a statement.

Photos released by authorities show industrial drug-making equipment, weighing scales, and containers filled with methamphetamine. A pellet gun loaded with blanks and three live rounds found with the farm’s caretaker who was also arrested were confiscated.

South Africa has been identified as one of the world’s largest consumer markets for crystal meth, with porous borders making it a key transit point for drug trafficking, according to the UN and the 2022 Global State of Harm Reduction report.

This bust follows a similar case last year involving a drug lab on another remote farm, which led to the arrest of two Mexicans and two South Africans.