The owners of a farm in Swartruggens near Rustenburg, where a multi-million-rand illegal drug laboratory was uncovered last week, appeared in the Swartruggens Magistrate’s Court on Friday alongside 11 co-accused after handing themselves over to police.
The accused face multiple charges, including drug manufacturing, illegal possession of precious metals, unlawful possession of hazardous materials and contravention of the Immigration Act.
The arrests follow an intelligence-driven operation led by several SAPS Crime Intelligence units, which uncovered what police described as a sophisticated crystal meth manufacturing operation on the farm. Eleven suspects were initially arrested during the raid before the farm owners later surrendered to authorities.
Those charged include five Mexican nationals — Fabian Astorga, Jesus Alonso, Medina Astorga, Luis Alberto Ramirez Rios, Jose Andres Medina and Jacquelin Lopez Madrid — as well as two Mozambican nationals, Ismael Afiado Massingue and Lourenco Constantino Cumbane, one Zimbabwean national, Tobias Soyani, and three South Africans, Tyron John Schutte, Kyle Schutte and Vusi Amos Mkambi.
Hawks national spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the pair who handed themselves over are believed to be related to two of the accused already before court.
“Prosecutor Riekie Krause addressed the court on the findings of a Home Affairs investigation into the legal status of some of the accused. It was established that eight of the accused are illegal immigrants and charges in terms of Section 49 of the Immigration Act will be added,” said Mogale.
All 13 accused were remanded in custody. The matter was postponed to 12 June, when bail applications for four of the accused are expected to be heard.
