House of heroin

The drugs were ready, packaged, set for distribution.

Uncut heroin powder worth more than R3-billion - destined for export - was stacked neatly in 200 50kg bags at the Everton Road estate.

The 2ha Durban home - boasting an indoor squash court, triple garage, multiple bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and an underground bunker - situated in the affluent suburb of Kloof, gave no hint of what was going on inside.

Until yesterday little was known about the owners of the large tree-lined home or the alleged activities there.

Then a tip-off to the Durban police led to the discovery of possibly the biggest heroin-manufacturing laboratory in the country and seizure of the narcotic haul - an estimated 10tons of it.

The house, surrounded by high walls, was merely a facade, containing only a few belongings of the two Chinese nationals and a South African who police arrested in a raid on Tuesday night.

Instead of the luxury furniture and belongings one would expect to find in a high-end house, police discovered - stacked from floor to ceiling in the garage - bags and bags of heroin. In the kitchen and bedrooms, equipment used to manufacture drugs was found.

The indoor squash court was used as the main laboratory, with filtration systems, a drying area and barrels of chemicals.

Police suspect the drugs were to be moved from the garage to the underground bunker before being exported.

From late Tuesday night heavily armed Tactical Response Team officers and members of the police dog unit, crime intelligence agents and detectives searched the house, locking down the property.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale said: "The suburb is affluent and from the outside the house is upmarket, but on the inside there is nothing, not even furniture, except for a few built-in cupboards."

Forensic investigators had recovered huge amounts of chemicals in mixing drums, and specialised scales and other equipment, he said.

"This appears to be a well-established enterprise."

Makgale said there were signs that other parts of the house were being converted into laboratories.

It would take police the rest of the week to process the scene, he said.

Last night, crime scene experts in specialised forensic suits were combing the scene.

"There are numerous sealed drums and containers with unknown liquids which need to be analysed," one said.

The Times has learnt that a second specialised forensic team will arrive at the house today from Gauteng to search for further underground bunkers, using ground-penetrating radar. It is suspected that, if they exist, the bunkers might contain more drugs.

Makgale said: "Although the investigation has just begun, given how the drugs were packaged, it appears that they were destined for distribution overseas."

He said investigators would engage with embassy officials to determine when the suspects arrived in South Africa.

"We are trying to establish if they were involved in any other crimes.

"We have learnt that the men are working for someone else. The homeowner is known and forms another part of the investigation.

"Police recovered three cellphones, which are being processed along with other evidence," Makgale said.

If needs be Interpol would be involved in the case, he said.

The suspects, aged 23, 55 and 56, will appear in the Pine-town Magistrate's Court tomorrow on charges of manufacturing narcotics.