South Africa police uncover $20m crystal meth lab

Large machinery found at an illicit drug lab in South Africa.

South African police have dismantled a crystal methamphetamine laboratory, with drugs worth $20m discovered on a farm in the east of the country.

Five people "from a North American country" were arrested, while two others "believed to be from West African countries" fled the scene.

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The South African Police Service received a tip-off about suspicious activities on a farm in Oudehoutkloof, Volksrust, about 150 miles from Johannesburg in the nation's Mpumalanga province. The person who submitted the tip reported "a strange chemical smell emanating from the premises," according to the police service. 

When officials searched the farm, they found precursor chemicals used to make drugs, manufacturing equipment, a pellet gun loaded with blanks, and three live 9 millimeter rounds held by a farm caretaker. 

Police also found about $20 million worth of crystal meth, packed in buckets and lunchboxes. The containers were stored in freezers, police said. 

Photos shared by the South African Police Service on social media show multiple containers and large machinery.