Pretoria - Policing agencies and forensics have gathered in Bultfontein, Hammanskraal, where a dagga plantation was discovered around 2am on Thursday morning.
Patrolling officers were scouting the area when they saw two suspicious-looking men walking in the area while it was dark.
The patrollers had been on the lookout for people stealing cattle from farmers when they came across these men. The men started running and headed in the direction of the plantation.
While the police chased the men, they came across scores of dagga plants outside the rooms and shacks of the plantation and immediately realised there could be a bigger crime to deal with.
Sources said the smell was so strong that the patrollers knew that there could be a lot more hidden inside.
Police were informed immediately and reacted urgently to get to the scene where they arrested a 20-year-old suspect sleeping in the house nearby.
The youngster had been sleeping at the time of the bust. The property is alleged to belong to his grandparents.
Forensic investigators are still assessing the dagga trees hanging on the roofs of the plantation rooms. The value of the dagga is not yet known but police believe this to be a big bust.
Police believe that whoever was involved here was farming and harvesting the dagga to sell to distributors and traders. Some of the bags of dagga were found stored in the refrigerator.