Farm used as drug laboratory in KZN forfeited to the state

The Asset Forfeiture Unit in KwaZulu-Natal has obtained a forfeiture order for a farm which was allegedly used as a drug laboratory.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the Pietermaritzburg high court granted the order for Tigerkloof Farm, in the Ingogo area near Newcastle, on Thursday. 

The forfeiture follows a preservation order obtained in May. The farm is valued at R1.2m and is about 132ha in size.

NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said it will remain in the custody of the curator, who will be responsible for its sale.

Proceeds of the sale will be deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (Cara) for use in law enforcement and crime-fighting initiatives. Cara is a separate account in the National Revenue Fund into which money and property are deposited after a judicial forfeiture or confiscation order.

Ramkisson-Kara said suspicious activity on the farm came to light after the Hawks followed up on information from an informer in 2019. During a search operation in August that year, members from the police forensic science laboratory confirmed that the types of exhibits found were similar to those found at the scene of a clandestine drug lab.

The exhibits were taken to the police’s forensic science laboratory in Pretoria for chemical analysis, and 25kg of methamphetamine was found in some of the exhibits.

“Based on the evidence, the state alleges there are reasonable grounds to believe Tigerkloof Farm was an instrumentality of an offence listed in schedule 1 of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act — in this instance, the manufacture, supply and possession of drugs and drug dealing activity,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

It was not possible to determine who was responsible for the manufacturing of the drugs. None of the people on the farm was charged with a criminal offence.

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