South African police have shut down what they describe as an industrial-scale crystal meth laboratory on a farm near Musina in Limpopo province, arresting two Mexican nationals along with three other suspects.
The overnight raid followed a two-month investigation into suspicious activity at the property, close to South Africa’s border with Zimbabwe. Authorities said they seized drugs, manufacturing equipment and cash with an estimated street value of around 600 million rand, about $37 million or £27 million.
Also arrested were two Zimbabweans and one Malawian citizen. All five are expected in court on Monday to face charges related to manufacturing and possessing illicit drugs.
Police called the operation “sophisticated” and said it was designed to produce large quantities of dangerous drugs for distribution.
The bust is the latest in a string of similar discoveries on remote South African farms. In May, 11 people including four Mexicans were arrested at a suspected lab northwest of Johannesburg valued at about $6 million. Last September, five Mexicans were detained after police dismantled a $20 million meth lab in the east of the country. And in July 2024, three Mexicans were among those arrested at a Limpopo farm where authorities found a lab and drugs worth an estimated $108 million.
Officials say the trend is not limited to South Africa. Counter-narcotics officers at US Africa Command told the BBC that since 2023, 14 Mexican-run labs have been raided across the continent, in Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa. In May, Nigeria’s drug agency also announced it had dismantled a “multi-million-dollar Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate” in a forested area.
Experts believe Mexican cartels are increasingly using parts of Africa not just to move drugs, but to manufacture them.
South Africa remains one of the world’s largest markets for crystal meth, according to a 2022 Global State of Harm Reduction report. The UN also notes the country’s geography and porous borders make it a key transit route for illicit drugs.
