A suspected multimillion-rand crystal methamphetamine manufacturing operation has been dismantled in Musina, Limpopo, with five people arrested and drugs and laboratory equipment worth an estimated R600 million seized.

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, carried out the late-night operation on a farm in the Vhembe District on Thursday, following a two-month intelligence-driven investigation into suspected drug manufacturing activities.

The operation involved the Hawks, South African Police Service, South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau, Crime Intelligence, Hawks Limpopo, Special Task Force, Drug Enforcement Agency and Homeland Security.

The five suspects, aged between 20 and 47, include two Mexican nationals, two Zimbabwean nationals and one Malawian national.

Investigators believe the facility was an industrial-scale clandestine laboratory established to manufacture dangerous illicit substances for distribution.

An undisclosed amount of cash was also recovered.

The Hawks said the latest seizure represents a major blow to an organised criminal enterprise operating in the province.

“We have struck at the machinery behind the drug trade,” said Hawks Limpopo provincial head Major General Adv Gopz Govender.

Govender said investigators would follow the money and establish the networks and individuals connected to the operation.

“We will follow the money, the networks and every person connected to this operation. There will be nowhere to hide,” he said.

Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant General Jan Scheepers said the operation demonstrated law enforcement’s determination to prevent the province from becoming a market for criminal syndicates.

The arrests come amid a series of major drug laboratory discoveries in Limpopo in recent years, with the province emerging as a significant target for organised drug manufacturing investigations.

In July 2024, Hawks investigators uncovered what authorities described as a major clandestine drug laboratory at a farm in Groblersdal.

Four structures were searched during the operation, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of chemicals, including acetone, and crystal meth with an estimated street value of R2 billion. Five suspects were ultimately arrested, including three Mexican nationals and two South Africans.

The Groblersdal investigation was particularly significant because police said the operation appeared to have an international link. The Hawks indicated that some of the Mexican suspects were believed to be linked to the Sinaloa cartel.

Two months later, in September 2024, police discovered another drug manufacturing laboratory at Makotse village in Lebowakgomo.

Three suspects aged between 25 and 33 were arrested, and drugs worth approximately R4 million were seized. Police found a significant quantity of mandrax at a suspect’s residence, while a nearby laboratory contained chemicals and other substances believed to have been used in drug production.

The Hawks previously reported that, nationally, 19 clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled during the 2024/25 financial year, with 45 arrests made at 18 of those sites.

The Musina operation is now the third clandestine drug laboratory to be shut down in Limpopo, according to the Hawks.

Colonel Avele Fumba said the investigation into the Musina operation remained ongoing.

The five suspects are expected to appear before the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 24 August, where they will face charges relating to the manufacture and possession of illicit drugs.

The Hawks said additional charges could be added as investigators continue tracing the operation’s financial and distribution networks.