Holy cow! This was one hell of an operation!

What is almost something out of a Hollywood script, police yesterday confiscated dagga plants worth about R5 bars, and seized luxury cars and quad bikes for good measure too.

All this was being housed on several farms where sophisticated techniques were used to grow the dagga for export.

And who was at the helm of this operation? Eleven people, including a mother and father, their three sons, the men’s wives and several of their friends. Must’ve been quite the family braai on Sundays.

The farms – kilometres apart and disguised as disused nurseries – were meticulously set up, each with its own power and water supplies, guaranteeing non-stop operation.

Police, who began tracking the syndicate nine months ago, discovered camouflaged trapdoors leading to underground storage facilities on the farms, along with specially designed growing rooms equipped with sprinklers and heating.

Narcotics and forensics officers specialising in hydroponic dagga investigations spent hours trawling through the industrial-scale facilities.

“It is one of the biggest hydroponic operations we have come across. It is a true masterpiece,” said one officer.

Confiscated documents showed that the family operation was selling the dagga overseas for between R7o and R90k a kilogram…

Ramaloko said the 11 would appear soon in the Johannesburg, Pretoria and Krugersdorp magistrate’s courts on charges of manufacturing and dealing in narcotics.

And what have we learnt here today, kids? Cheaters do in fact prosper, but only until they get caught. Then it sucks – a lot.

Read more at Times Live