Limpopo families fear influx of drugs after major Hawks Lab Bust on Musina Farm

By Bernard Chiguvare, Health-e News

Parents in Musina, Limpopo, say drug addiction is taking a toll on families, leaving some afraid in their own homes and struggling to get help for their children.

Their concerns come after the Hawks uncovered a suspected crystal methamphetamine manufacturing operation on a farm in Musina, in Vhembe District on 20 August.

Five suspects, including two Mexican nationals, were arrested and drugs and laboratory equipment with an estimated street value of R600 million were seized. Police confirmed an undisclosed amount of cash was also seized.

Community activists fear a possible Mexican cartel link in South Africa. According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), this is the third clandestine drug laboratory to be shut down in Limpopo in recent months. 

Concerned family members and activists protested outside the Musina Magistrate’s Court last week Friday, where the suspects made their second court appearance following the drug bust. 

Parents worried about drugs infiltrating Musina

Health-e News spoke to parents and community members outside court who have experienced the effects of drug addiction within their families.

For 70-year-old Melita Musekwa, living with her 30-year-old grandson struggling with drug addiction became a frightening experience.

“I used to miss my light bulbs in the house. I did not know how they disappeared. I became suspicious of my grandchild’s behaviour and decided to visit his room. I found candles burning even though it was daytime,” Musekwa says.

Musekwa says she confronted him about the missing light bulbs and candles, but says he became aggressive and wanted to fight her.

She says she felt unsafe in her own home and called the police to take him away.

Before he was removed from the house, she says she struggled to sleep because of the noise coming from his room.

“I usually had to peep into his room to find out exactly what was going on. I discovered that he was loudly talking to himself in the room. It made me feel very unsafe and I could not sleep properly,” she says.

Musekwa does not know what drug her grandson was using.

She later came into contact with Musina-based organisation Help Me To Quit, which assists people struggling with drug addiction to access rehabilitation services.

“After a year, my grandchild was released, but I discovered that he was not fully rehabilitated. I suggested that he should be taken back until such a time as he was fit to live with me,” she says.

Musekwa says he is currently back at the rehabilitation centre in Polokwane.

Addiction puts pressure on families

Another Musina mother, Lesedi*, says her daughter started using crystal methamphetamine while she was still a matric learner in 2015.

At the time, Lesedi* was also caring for another child who had been diagnosed with cancer.

“The situation erupted when I was taking care of my child who had been diagnosed with cancer in 2015, so the child had no one else to take care of her. When I came back, I witnessed my daughter fighting with her boyfriend. I later discovered that my daughter and her boyfriend were both taking drugs. After taking drugs, they would fight uncontrollably,” she says.

Lesedi* says residents would sometimes call her at night while she was away in Polokwane to tell her that her daughter was involved in another fight.

“I am very much concerned because I wanted to give a good life to my child. I pushed her to attend a TVET college, but she did not complete the course. What also matters is that at the age of 30, she has six children. She also puts the children at risk by moving around with some of them and leaving the others with their father, who is her boyfriend. She never uses birth control, and I am worried about who is going to look after her children. This also puts an extra burden on me,” she says.

Lesedi* says she sometimes has to buy food for her grandchildren when their mother does not leave enough food at home.

She says although her daughter had been to rehabilitation more than a decade ago, she does not believe she has fully recovered.

Helping people access rehabilitation

Eunice Madinginye runs Help Me To Quit, a non-profit organisation established in 2019 to assist people struggling with drug addiction.

Madinginye says the organisation has helped more than a hundred people access rehabilitation centres.

There is a rehabilitation centre in Musina, but Madinginye says she generally refers people to a private rehabilitation centre in Polokwane because of higher success rates.

“Some of the children on drugs abuse their parents. Most of the parents have sleepless nights,” Madinginye says.

She says she was distressed to learn that drugs were being manufactured on a farm in Musina.

R600 million suspected drug operation

According to a Hawks statement issued on 20 August, the suspected clandestine drug laboratory was uncovered on a farm in Musina following a two-month investigation into suspected drug manufacturing activities.

The Hawks described it as a suspected crystal methamphetamine manufacturing operation.

Five suspects, aged between 20 and 47, were arrested. They include two Mexican nationals, two Zimbabwean nationals and one Malawian national.

Drugs and laboratory equipment with an estimated street value of R600 million, as well as an undisclosed amount of cash, were seized.

The five suspects face charges relating to the manufacture and possession of illicit drugs. The Hawks says additional charges may be added as the investigation continues.

Scores of people gathered outside the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Friday, calling for the accused not to be granted bail.

The suspects made their second appearance in court on 28 August. The matter was postponed to 10 September for a bail application.

Peter Jack, chairperson of the South African National Civic Organisation‘s Musina branch, says the court process should be allowed to run its course.

“This is a big criminal case. Let the court proceedings take their course,” Jack says.

*Not her real name

Source: Read the original report at Health-e News.