Containers of meth found in an illicit lab in South Africa. South African Police Service

Officials in South Africa discovered $20 million dollars worth of illicit drugs at a farm being used as a methamphetamine lab and arrested five North American citizens, according to a news release shared Saturday.

The South African Police Service received a tip-off about suspicious activities on a farm in Oudehoutkloof, Volksrust, about 150 miles from Johannesburg in the nation's Mpumalanga province. The person who submitted the tip reported "a strange chemical smell emanating from the premises," according to the police service.

When officials searched the farm, they found precursor chemicals used to make drugs, manufacturing equipment, a pellet gun loaded with blanks, and three live 9 millimeter rounds held by a farm caretaker.

Police also found about $20 million worth of crystal meth, packed in buckets and lunchboxes. The containers were stored in freezers, police said.

Photos shared by the South African Police Service on social media show multiple containers and large machinery.

Five suspects were taken into custody after attempting to flee on foot. All five were from a North American country, but the police did not say which nation they were from. They were in the country illegally, police said. All five face possible drug and immigration-related charges, police said.

The farm caretaker is South African. Police said he was arrested and faces possible charges for possession of ammunition.

All six suspects in custody are expected to appear before court soon, police said.

Two other suspects, believed to be from West African countries, fled into nearby bushes and avoided capture, the police service said.

The drug lab is being dismantled, police said in the news release. Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, the acting provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service, said the operation is "a step in the right direction" to "rid the streets of Mpumalanga of all types of drugs."

A 2022 report described South Africa as one of the largest crystal meth consumer markets in the world, according to CBS News partner BBC News. Last year, police discovered another large meth lab in a remote farm area. The discovery led to the arrest of two South Africans and three Mexican suspects. Police seized $100 million worth of precursor chemicals and illicit drugs.


Large machinery found at an illicit drug lab in South Africa. South African Police Service

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