Brits - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation's (Hawks) serious organised crime unit, with members of the Hartbeespoort Dam South African Police Service's K9 unit, have shut down a hydroponic dagga lab in Assen in Brits and arrested three people and seized dagga worth about R1.2 million, North West police said.
This followed information provided about cultivation and dealing in dagga, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said in a statement.
"A search warrant was executed wherein a fully-fledged dagga cultivation greenhouse was allegedly discovered. In the greenhouse, approximately 148 dagga plants were found. Twenty-four bags containing processed dagga were found in an air-conditioned room.
Further bags of processed dagga were found in the house while some were stashed in the ceiling."
Three people were arrested and dagga worth about R1.2 million seized. Picture: SAPS
Three suspects, aged between 28 and 49, were subsequently arrested. Preliminary investigations revealed that the main suspect was linked to other cases of dealing in dagga, and "was once declared an undesirable person in the country".
The trio would appear in the Brits Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of cultivating and dealing in dagga, Rikhotso said.