SA: Police swoop on hijacked building and bust drugs destined for Zimbabwe; 8 suspects arrested

By Agencies

JOHANNESBURG: Police have busted a multi-million rand unlawful supply of cough syrup, laced with codeine, destined for neighbouring Zimbabwe, where the medicine is consumed primarily as a recreational drug.

Officers from the South African Police Service (SAPS) late on Saturday, 22 November 2025, swooped on a property in Houghton, where they found the contraband, which also included quantities of processed dagga (cannabis).

Joburg Public Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku says the drugs worth two million Rand were destined for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

He says eight suspects have been arrested.

They face charges related to illicit possession and dealing, as well as illegal occupation of a hijacked building.

“We came across this house here where they were housing a lot of medicine. This is a cough syrup with Codeine, you can’t really get it, you must get it with a prescription. Also, we got dagga that was destined for Zimbabwe,” said Tshwaku.

In recent years, Zimbabwe has been in the grip of a drug abuse crisis, the widespread abuse of codeine-based cough syrups.

Brand names of cough medicines such as BronCleer and Broncol, known on the streets as “bronco”, were once sold over the counter as legitimate treatments for persistent coughs.

Lately, however, they are used as a recreational drug.

BREAKING NEWS | Drugs worth millions of rand, including codeine mixed with dagga, have been uncovered in a hijacked building in Houghton, Johannesburg. The discovery follows an intelligence-driven operation led by the City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku,… pic.twitter.com/8CGO1WE032

— SABC News (@SABCNews) November 22, 2025