Elderly woman among three 'kingpins' arrested in R254m KZN drug bust
Updated | By Nushera Soodyal
An elderly woman is among three people who have been nabbed in connection with a R254 million drug bust on a farm in Harding.
Seventy-five-year-old Haseena Heslop, who owns Little Farm, was arrested on Monday.
Two other suspects, Fazel Sallie and Chalden Royston, handed themselves over to members of the Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Investigations Unit on Wednesday.
Hawks spokesperson Simphiwe Mhlongo says they face charges of manufacturing and supplying drugs.
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The trio has been released on R30 000 bail by the Harding Magistrate’s Court.
The Hawks raided Little Farm four years ago after they received information drugs were being manufactured on the property.
They confiscated over three million Mandrax tablets, over 72 kilogrammes of powder, over 2 200 litres of substances thought to have been used to manufacture drugs - as well as paraphernalia.
Three suspects were arrested during the 2018 raid.
The charges against them were later provisionally withdrawn.
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Mhlongo says they will now be summoned back to court.
"The three people were not the kingpins of the clandestine laboratory. Their role was discovered during the investigation. Then the Hawks members pursued the kingpin.
"They have arrested the farm as well as the person whose details and other information were found in the laboratory as well as the person who played a role in the formation of the whole laboratory. Those are the three suspects that were arrested this week."
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