South Africa police raid third crystal meth lab

South African police said Thursday they uncovered a crystal methamphetamine laboratory hidden on a remote farm about 200 kilometres north of Johannesburg, the third such operation in less than four months.

Police said officers raided the farm overnight after local people reported suspicious activity and a strong, unpleasant smell. They said they found equipment and materials suspected of being used to manufacture drugs and arrested a 62-year-old who was renting the property.

“Preliminary investigations established that the operation was involved in the manufacturing of crystal methamphetamine,” police said.

North West police chief Arthur Peter Adams said officers found recently bought equipment, including washing machines. He said the purchases indicated that whoever was funding the operation had “very deep pockets”.

Police in May uncovered a multi-million-dollar methamphetamine laboratory on a remote farm northwest of Johannesburg and arrested 11 suspects, including four Mexicans. In August, police said they uncovered a crystal meth laboratory on the border with Zimbabwe and arrested several foreign nationals, including two Mexicans.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in a July 2025 report that such laboratories supply international markets at a time of rising cocaine and methamphetamine demand in Australia and New Zealand, where retail prices for both drugs are among the highest in the world.