Police torched a massive weed farm hidden near a river after receiving community tips. Authorities discovered the illegal grow operation worth R2.9 million along the Mhlambanyatsi River on Buffelspruit farms outside Malelane in Mpumalanga. Officers raided the spot where growers used the water source to feed rows of mature plants while keeping them concealed from patrols.
Mpumalanga law enforcement teamed up with local farmers during Operation Safer Festive Season to raid this remote setup. Criminals intentionally picked the location to avoid detection while exploiting natural resources in the Nkomazi region. The team uprooted every single plant to ensure none of the product hit the streets.
Nobody got handcuffed at the scene yet because the growers vanished before officers arrived. Brigadier Donald Mdhluli asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stop or use the MySAPS app anonymously. Investigators opened a case to hunt down the networks funding these hidden agricultural projects that fuel addiction and crime.
Rural landscapes often become hotspots for illicit cultivation because vast spaces make monitoring difficult without inside help. Residents in Malelane worry about safety as criminal groups trespass on private land to run these secret businesses. This bust disrupts supply chains but highlights how hard it is to police these vast areas.
Mpumalanga law enforcement teamed up with local farmers during Operation Safer Festive Season to raid this remote setup. Criminals intentionally picked the location to avoid detection while exploiting natural resources in the Nkomazi region. The team uprooted every single plant to ensure none of the product hit the streets.
Nobody got handcuffed at the scene yet because the growers vanished before officers arrived. Brigadier Donald Mdhluli asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stop or use the MySAPS app anonymously. Investigators opened a case to hunt down the networks funding these hidden agricultural projects that fuel addiction and crime.
Rural landscapes often become hotspots for illicit cultivation because vast spaces make monitoring difficult without inside help. Residents in Malelane worry about safety as criminal groups trespass on private land to run these secret businesses. This bust disrupts supply chains but highlights how hard it is to police these vast areas.
