The arrest of three Mexican nationals in the biggest drug lab bust ever in South Africa, near Groblersdal last week, is a sign of expansion by central American cartels, a top international expert says.
Police said large quantities of chemicals used in manufacturing illicit drugs, including crystal meth, with an estimated street value of R2bn were recovered during the raid.
Five people have been arrested.
Among them is 67-year-old Frederick Botha, who the Hawks say is the owner of the farm. Also charged are Simphiwe Khumalo, 35, and three Mexican nationals: Gonzales Jorge, 51, Gutierrez Lopes, 43, and Ruben Vidal Rodriguez, 44, who was arrested later.
The case has been postponed to Thursday for further investigation.
Kenneth Ayala, the head of the consular section of the Mexican Embassy in South Africa confirmed the nationality of his three countrymen.
“We are in the process of reaching out to their families to tell them what transpired and the implications of the arrests under South African law. We spoke to the suspects telephonically yesterday and I can confirm that they are in good health and have not suffered any intimidation at the hands of the police.”
Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale, said members of the Limpopo serious organised crime investigation team, assisted by tactical response teams, raided the farm Thaba Monate south of Groblersdal last weekend.
Mogale said the raid was the result of an intelligence-driven operation.
The Sunday Times spoke to several farmers in the area as well as residents of Groblersdal and local business people. Most did not know Botha.
“He kept a very low profile. Nobody I spoke to has even met him,” said one farmer.
Canadian Jason Eligh, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime senior expert and thematic lead on drugs, believes the arrest is a sign of Mexican cartels expanding into Africa in a search for bigger markets — one of them being Australia.
“I believe South Africa is further along the path to Mexican cartel expansion than you realise,” Eligh said.
“The cartels in Mexico, they first started expanding — I call it offshoring — eight or 10 years ago when two of the cartels, the Sinaloa and the CJNG — the Jalisco cartel — embarked on a campaign of international expansionism.
“The US market is saturated, so for additional profit they have to look elsewhere. Then they started reaching out to other large and emerging markets.
“The first African entry we picked up was into West Africa. Eight years ago we saw the initial arrest of Mexican nationals with an industrial-size lab in a small state in Nigeria. It would have been an almost incredible coincidence to make this bust, find Mexicans showing the Nigerians how to make better meth, and expect that this was the very first instance of this happening.”
The reason for Mexican involvement?
“The Mexican recipe is better than others previously used. Instead of using ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, they were using something called P2P, which is a different compound that gives you much, much more volume of meth and much less waste product. And you are able to do it in high volumes.
“With the Mexican meth you use labs similar to what was busted in Limpopo. This creates volumes of production that can be measured in many, many tons over the course of a year,” Eligh said.
What is the interest of the cartels in Africa?
He said the “offshoring” to Africa had taken a lot of the production out of Mexico, “where there is obviously a large amount of US scrutiny and support for the government to crack down on the cartels”.
Operations in West Africa had already expanded into neighbouring states, allowing the cartels a foothold closer to their ideal market.
“If you are producing meth the one market in the world you want to reach is Australia. Because it is removed and remote with strong ports security, the retail price — what a user would pay — is significantly higher than almost anywhere in the world where there is a democratic society with a vibrant drug-using community. This means a lot more profit for the same weights.
“The best way to target Australia from West Africa is through South Africa, which is very well placed through a trade perspective and where the Nigerians already have structures in place for smuggling. South Africa and Australia have a long standing vibrant tradition of moving goods and people back and forth.”
Eligh believes the Groblersdal lab is not the first of its kind or scale in South Africa.
“If you dig deep enough there is likely going to be a connection somewhere to a Mexican cartel. It might not be an overt connection, but certainly one of these Mexicans is going to be the key chemist, or the key chemist came and taught them, and left.”
The Limpopo location is of “significant interest”.
“It is a more rural area away from nosy neighbours but still close enough to Johannesburg and its major highways that lead to all the major ports and exit points in the country.”
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