On Sunday, 12 March 2023, a suspect was arrested in Bloemfontein Central Business District in possession of Mandrax tablets. The Bike Squad attached to Parkweg Police Station stopped and searched the 37-year-old male and discovered a transparent plastic bag containing a thousand Mandrax tablets. When asked for his travelling documents, the suspect claimed they were at his residential place and directed the squad to Tielmanroos Street in Olive Hill, in the Navalsig Police Station area. There, police discovered a clandestine drug laboratory in the backyard of a plot.
Various drug manufacturing equipment, unidentified powder, crystallised drain cleaner, 10 litres of brown liquid believed to be drug-producing and cutting agents, 17 packages containing Mandrax tablets, and another open package containing 574 tablets were all confiscated. Cases for manufacturing illegal drugs and possession of drugs were opened at Navalsig and Parkweg Police Stations respectively. The estimated street value of the drugs seized was R930 000.00.
The Free State Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane, commended the vigilance of the team that led to the discovery of the clandestine laboratory and the seizure of drugs. She encouraged all the foot soldiers to take a leaf out of this good success and continue to work hard to remove drugs from the streets in this Province. The suspect will appear in Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court soon.
