Two Mexican nationals have been arrested in South Africa after police uncovered a large crystal methamphetamine laboratory on a farm in Limpopo province.
The laboratory was discovered during an overnight raid near Musina, close to South Africa’s border with Zimbabwe. Two Zimbabwean nationals and a Malawian were also arrested during the operation.
Police said the raid followed a two-month investigation into suspicious activities at the farm. Officers seized drugs, laboratory equipment and an undisclosed amount of cash. The total value of the drugs and equipment was estimated at about 600 million rand ($37m; £27m).
According to police, the facility appeared to be a sophisticated, industrial-scale operation designed to manufacture illegal drugs for distribution.
The five suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday. They will face charges related to the manufacture and possession of illicit drugs.
The arrests are part of a growing pattern of large methamphetamine laboratories being discovered on remote farms across South Africa. Several of the investigations have involved Mexican nationals.
In May, police arrested 11 people, including four Mexicans, after finding a suspected drug laboratory worth about $6m on a farm northwest of Johannesburg.
In September last year, five Mexican nationals were arrested after police dismantled another crystal meth laboratory on a farm in eastern South Africa. Authorities said drugs worth about $20m were discovered.
In July 2024, three Mexicans were among people arrested at a farm in Limpopo where police found a methamphetamine laboratory and drugs estimated to be worth $108m.
South Africa has become an important destination and transit point for illicit drugs. Its location and porous borders also make it attractive to international trafficking networks.
The country is also considered one of the world’s major crystal meth consumer markets, according to the 2022 Global State of Harm Reduction report.
The expansion of methamphetamine production is not limited to South Africa. Authorities in several African countries have reported the discovery of laboratories linked to Mexican criminal networks.
In Nigeria, drug enforcement officials said in May that they had dismantled a major Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production network after discovering a laboratory in a densely forested area.
US-Africa Command counter-narcotics officials have told the BBC that 14 Mexican-operated laboratories have been raided in Africa since 2023, including facilities in Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa.
The discoveries have raised concerns that Mexican criminal organisations are increasingly using Africa not only as a route for trafficking drugs but also as a base for producing them.
