R18m drug lab bust in Joburg

2009-06-26 08:27

Johannesburg - Three men were arrested at a drug lab in Johannesburg, Gauteng police said on Thursday.

Superintendent Eugene Opperman said police also seized narcotics and equipment worth R18m, after the bust on Wednesday evening, at a house in Honeydew Ridge.

"The fully-equipped CAT and Tik laboratory, was uncovered when police followed up on information about a strong smell of chemicals emanating from the house."

Opperman said the drugs were being manufactured inside the house under extremely unhygienic circumstances.

"If only the users of this kind of drug know what goes into it, they would not touch the stuff. Among other substances and chemicals even car brake-fluid, thinners and other substances often find their way into the concoction.

"The manufacturing of CAT and Tik certainly is a dangerous process and the end product is very addictive and filthy," said Opperman.

The three men, all in their late twenties, face drug dealing charges and will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court on Monday.

- SAPA