Police arrested two foreign nationals on Wednesday following the discovery of a multimillion-rand clandestine Mandrax drug laboratory in Erasmia, west of Pretoria. The discovery was made during a joint operation between the Crime Intelligence Head Office and the Hawks.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili, who visited the scene, described the law-enforcement operation as “a major blow to a large-scale criminal syndicate and SA’s illicit drug supply chain”.
Mosikili said the suspected mandrax manufacturing lab produced up to about 800 000 tablets a day. “This is not a small operation,” she said.
A joint operation between Crime Intelligence and the Hawks has uncovered a drug lab with equipment and materials worth an estimated R100 million in Erasmia outside Pretoria. pic.twitter.com/PIEpG9tHka
— Earl Coetzee (@Earl_Coetzee) September 9, 2026
Mosikili condemned the use of small-holding properties and farms “as hideouts for illicit activities, including the manufacturing of drugs”.
“By dismantling these facilities, we are disrupting the production capacity of a network capable of flooding our communities with hundreds of thousands of tablets every single day,” Mosikili said.
- Two foreign nationals were arrested on Wednesday after a multimillion-rand clandestine Mandrax drug laboratory was discovered in Erasmia, west of Pretoria.
- The discovery was made during a joint operation between the Crime Intelligence Head Office and the Hawks.
- The Mandrax laboratory was capable of producing up to about 800,000 tablets a day.
- The equipment and materials found in the lab were valued at approximately R100 million.
- Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili condemned the use of small-holding properties and farms as hideouts for drug manufacturing.
Police arrested two foreign nationals on Wednesday following the discovery of a multimillion-rand clandestine
Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili, who visited the scene, described the law-enforcement operation as "a major blow to a large-scale criminal syndicate and SA’s illicit drug supply chain".
Mosikili said the suspected mandrax manufacturing lab produced up to about 800 000 tablets a day. "
A joint operation between Crime Intelligence and the Hawks has uncovered a drug lab with equipment and materials worth an estimated R100 million in Erasmia outside Pretoria. pic.twitter.com/PIEpG9tHka
— Earl Coetzee (@Earl_Coetzee)
September 9, 2026
Mosikili condemned the use of small-holding properties and farms "as hideouts for illicit activities, including the manufacturing of drugs".
"By dismantling these facilities, we are disrupting the production capacity of a network capable of flooding our communities with hundreds of thousands of tablets every single day," Mosikili said.
