How Mexican cartels turned South Africa’s farms into meth labs?

Mexican cartels have established methamphetamine production sites on remote South African farms, signalling a shift from trafficking drugs into the country to manufacturing them locally, according to investigators and crime experts.

In the North West province town of Swartruggens, a court is considering bail for five Mexican nationals accused of running a major drug operation, Caliber.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

Their arrest followed a raid on a farm where police say they uncovered a meth lab containing 481kg of methamphetamine and chemicals valued at around one billion rand ($60 million), alongside firearms.

The case is part of a wider pattern. Authorities have dismantled at least four large meth laboratories linked to Mexican networks across South Africa in recent years, including sites in Limpopo, Tshwane, Mpumalanga and North West. Investigators say the operations are typically set up on isolated farmland to avoid detection.

Organised crime researcher Julian Rademeyer said the trend reflects a strategic shift by cartel-linked groups. “It’s quite a unique development where you have members of Mexican drug cartels franchising, moving chemists into remote rural areas and farms,” he said.

He added: “Now, basically, the cartel chemists are being sent here,” noting that production inside Africa reduces transport costs and exposure to enforcement at borders.

Experts say the networks first appeared in Nigeria around 2016 before spreading through East and Southern Africa, eventually reaching South Africa, where local production is increasingly replacing imported supply.

Crime expert Willem Els said local conditions are enabling the trade. “The main reason why manufacturing locally is lucrative to cartels is the local conditions that exist, where there is protection from corrupt police and politicians,” he told Al Jazeera.

Former Interpol ambassador Andy Mashiale said corruption within policing is also a factor. “There is no way in which police don’t know those labs,” he said. “So corruption plays a role.”

Authorities, including South Africa’s Hawks unit and international partners such as the US Drug Enforcement Administration, say they are increasing pressure on the networks. However, analysts warn the model is resilient and continues to expand across rural areas.

Rademeyer cautioned the problem is likely to persist. “It’s a game of whack-a-mole,” he said. “You seize a meth lab here, you seize a meth lab there. They’ll spring up elsewhere.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev