Bloemfontein - A 28-year-old foreign national was arrested on Sunday after police discovered he was housing a makeshift drug laboratory.
“The 28-year-old male was arrested and charged with possession of suspected stolen property and manufacturing of narcotics,” Free State police spokesperson Constable Peter Kareli said.
On Sunday evening, Bloemfontein cops came across “a suspicious unknown male” while on patrol in Bayswater.
“The officers stopped and questioned the male but he refused to give police his personal information,” said Kareli.
Police then discovered the suspect was a foreign national who did not have his documentation with him.
“The police searched him and found a cellphone which led the police to [a] further investigation in a house in Helicon Heights, Bayswater,” said Kareli.
At the property, police found a “makeshift drug laboratory” consisting of empty chemical drums and two plastic bags containing white and brown powdery substances. Three plasma screen TVs were also discovered with their serial numbers filed off, as well as six cellphones.
Kareli said that laboratory experts from Pretoria later confirmed that the recovered drums contained chemicals used in the manufacturing of drugs.
The suspect was then arrested and was expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court soon.
ANA