South African police have arrested five people, including two Mexican nationals, after uncovering a large-scale crystal methamphetamine laboratory on a farm near the country’s border with Zimbabwe.
The laboratory was discovered during an overnight raid near Musina in Limpopo province following a two-month investigation into suspicious activity at the property, police said.
Two Zimbabwean nationals and a Malawian were also detained.
Authorities seized drugs and equipment valued at about 600 million rand ($37 million), along with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police described the site as a sophisticated industrial-scale operation believed to have been established to manufacture illegal drugs for distribution.
The five suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday on charges linked to the manufacture and possession of illicit drugs.
The raid is the latest in a series of major methamphetamine laboratories uncovered on remote South African farms, several of which have involved Mexican nationals.
In May, police arrested 11 suspects, including four Mexicans, after discovering a suspected drug laboratory worth about $6 million on a farm northwest of Johannesburg.
Five Mexican nationals were also arrested in September 2025 when authorities dismantled a crystal meth laboratory containing drugs valued at around $20 million in eastern South Africa.
Another major operation in Limpopo in July 2024 resulted in the arrest of three Mexicans and the seizure of a meth laboratory and drugs valued at approximately $108 million.
South Africa is considered a major market for crystal methamphetamine and also serves as an important transit point for international drug trafficking networks because of its extensive borders and transport links.
Similar operations have increasingly been uncovered elsewhere in Africa.
Nigeria’s drug enforcement agency said in May that it had dismantled a sophisticated methamphetamine production network involving Nigerian and Mexican suspects at a laboratory hidden in a forested area.
US counter-narcotics officials have said at least 14 laboratories linked to Mexican operators have been raided across Africa since 2023, including sites in Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa.
The discoveries have raised concerns that international drug cartels are increasingly using Africa not only as a transit route for narcotics but also as a production base.