Four nabbed as police raid drugs lab

Police last night raided a drug laboratory at a home in northern Johannesburg, seizing drug-making chemicals and drugs worth about R10-million.

Four suspects - three men and a woman aged between 22 and 44 - were arrested.

Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said crime intelligence officers acting on a tip-off pounced on the suspects at about 6pm.

On the property, officers recovered twelve 210-litre drums and more than twenty 25-litre drums containing various chemical solvents used to manufacture the recreational drug Kat, an amphetamine-like stimulant.

He said test tubes used in the various stages of the drugs manufacturing process and a small portion of Kat were also confiscated.

Ndou said the drug laboratory was situated in a back room on the property.

He called the bust "a big setback for drug manufacturers". Police did not rule out the possibility of more arrests in connection with the bust.

Ndou said seven BMWs and BMW parts were recovered. Six of the cars were reportedly stolen.

"Two of the suspects (a man and a woman) are South African citizens, while the other two are Zimbabwean and Nigerian nationals," Ndou said, adding that they would appear in the Randburg Magistrate's Court tomorrow on possession of drugs and possession of stolen vehicle charges.