Lost Goats Lead Police to Suspected CAT Drug Laboratory in North West
One suspect was arrested, and three others escaped after residents searching for missing goats stumbled upon suspicious activity at a property in Klipvoorstad.
KLIPVOORSTAD, NORTH WEST – A search for missing goats has led police to a suspected clandestine drug laboratory in Klipvoorstad, near Jericho in the North West province.
North West Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Arthur Peter Adams confirmed that police descended on the property after members of the local community reported suspicious activity.
According to Adams, officers from the Bojanala Platinum Sub-District 1 responded to the information shortly after 2 pm, accompanied by Crime Intelligence, police dog handlers and members of the district task team.
As officers approached the property, four men allegedly ran from the premises. Police pursued them and arrested one suspect, while the remaining three escaped into an area that officers described as difficult to penetrate.
The arrested suspect is believed to be the tenant renting the property from its owner.
Police uncover suspected clandestine laboratory
When officers returned to inspect the premises, they reportedly discovered equipment, containers and chemicals consistent with a clandestine drug-manufacturing operation.
The strong smell of chemicals prompted the initial responding officers to withdraw from the property and call specialised units to the scene.
Police officers wearing protective equipment subsequently entered the premises and established that it was allegedly being used as a clandestine drug laboratory.
Adams said preliminary information suggested that methcathinone, commonly known as CAT, may have been manufactured at the property. However, forensic testing will be required to confirm the exact substances recovered.
Specialists from the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria were called to process and package the substances safely.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, has also joined the investigation.
Expensive equipment points to a well-funded operation
Adams said police discovered expensive equipment at the property, including washing machines and other items that appeared to have been purchased recently.
He said the size of the pots and other equipment found at the scene suggested that the suspected operation was either substantial or in the process of being expanded.
According to Adams, the expensive machinery suggested that whoever was financing the suspected laboratory had “very deep pockets.”
Police are expected to follow the financial trail connected to the rental of the property, the purchase of equipment and the alleged drug-manufacturing operation.
Investigators will also seek to establish the identities of the people who financed and operated the suspected laboratory.
Missing goats trigger major police breakthrough
The extraordinary discovery began when goats reportedly wandered away, and members of the community went searching for them.
During that search, residents noticed suspicious activity at the property and alerted the police.
Adams praised the community for reporting what they had witnessed instead of attempting to confront the occupants themselves.
He urged residents elsewhere in the province to report suspicious activities to the authorities, saying communities play a critical role as the “eyes and ears” of the police.
Police hunt three escaped suspects
A search is continuing for the three men who escaped when police approached the property.
Adams warned that officers would be relentless in pursuing the suspects and uncovering the people behind the operation.
“They can run, but they can never hide,” he said.
Police have not yet disclosed the estimated value or quantity of the suspected drugs and chemicals recovered from the property.
The arrested suspect is expected to face charges once the investigation and forensic processing of the scene have progressed.
This is a developing story.
