South Africa police arrest five Mexicans in drugs lab raid

South African police have arrested five Mexican nationals after a raid on a crystal meth lab at a remote farm, a spokesperson said on Monday, the latest in a series of such busts.

Police were investigating a link between the lab raided on Friday and Latin American drug cartels, a spokesperson for the elite Hawks unit told AFP, with Mexican labs reportedly spreading around the world to supply international markets.

Police also seized methamphetamine worth around 350 million rand ($20 million) packed into lunch boxes and buckets on the farm near Volksrust, around 250 kilometres southeast of Johannesburg.

In July 2024, the Hawks arrested three Mexicans in a raid on a drugs lab on a farm near Groblersdal, about 200 kilometres from Johannesburg, when they seized about two billion rands worth of methamphetamine.