South African police have arrested five Mexican nationals following a raid on a large-scale crystal meth lab discovered on a remote farm, authorities confirmed on Monday.
The operation, carried out on Friday near Volksrust, about 250 kilometres southeast of Johannesburg, uncovered methamphetamine worth an estimated 350 million rand ($20 million). The drugs had been packed into lunch boxes and buckets, according to a spokesman for the Hawks, South Africa’s elite crime-busting unit.
Investigators are probing possible links between the lab and Latin American drug cartels, with Mexican syndicates increasingly reported to be expanding their global footprint to supply international markets.
This latest bust adds to a growing list of similar cases. In July 2024, three Mexican nationals were arrested during a raid on a meth lab in Groblersdal, where police seized drugs valued at around two billion rand. In November of the same year, another Mexican suspect was detained at a meth facility in Rietfontein, north of Johannesburg.
South Africa has become a key market for methamphetamine, with demand spreading into neighbouring countries, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
A July 2025 report by the Geneva-based agency noted that “Mexican meth” production has spread across the globe in the past decade. The recent series of busts in South Africa and Mozambique, the report added, highlight the growing presence of Latin American cartels in Africa and their partnerships with local and foreign criminal groups for production and trafficking.
