Johannesburg - A hydroponic drug laboratory has been discovered at a house in Boksburg along with dagga with a street value of R100 000, the Hawks said on Wednesday.
The house was raided before 10am on Wednesday and a couple taken into custody, Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
Hydroponic cultivation occurs in greenhouses or indoors. It is a form of growing plants under water, without any soil.
Mulaudzi said the lab was sophisticated
“Officers raided the house... and found the extensive crop growing inside a backroom of the property,” he said.
“Police found a sophisticated hydroponic growing operation with 72 marijuana plants in various stages of growth. The house also contained processed marijuana that already had been harvested for sale.”
Ten tortoises were also found and removed by the Protective Species Unit.
The couple, aged 57 and 50, are due to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate's Court soon facing charges manufacturing and dealing in drugs, and illegal possession of protected species.
Sapa