The West Rand seems to slowly be turning into a haven for drug manufacturers who take advantage of the layout of the area to conduct their illicit business.
This was according to police spokesperson Captain Solomon Sibiya after yet another drug bust in the area.
On Thursday, police arrested four people on a plot in Muldersdrift for allegedly manufacturing drugs.
Police found dagga, ecstasy tablets, mushrooms as well as chemicals used in manufacturing drugs at the farm. The main suspect, a former pharmacist, is alleged to have left his pharmaceutical job in 2002, then rented the plot and used it to manufacture the drugs.
The four people who were arrested on Thursday for manufacturing drugs at a plot in Muldersdrift.
In November last year, former soccer analyst Mike "Sporo" Mangena was also arrested, together with three other people, for allegedly manufacturing drugs.
The clandestine drug laboratory was found on Mangena's farm in Randfontein. Police found a steel shed full of chemicals and machines used to manufacture Mandrax as well as a truck containing liquid chemicals.
Sibiya said there were too many plots and farms in the West Rand and people were taking advantage of that because they were not easily accessible.
Former Kaizer Chiefs star Mike Mangena. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
"The West Rand is full of farms and plots that are far away from the active community. For example, in this latest case, the plot itself is very far from the main road. You have to travel a lot to get to the plot, about three kilometers. The plot itself is very deep in the bushes."
Sibiya said people who normally live in plots were old, had retired and just want peace of mind.
He said as there were no shops nearby and neither was there a hive of activity, so the plots and farms were preferred locations for those wanting to conduct criminal activities.