Johannesburg - Members of the West Rand District South African Police Service (SAPS) public order policing unit and flying squad members have arrested a 33-year-old male suspect following the discovery of a dagga laboratory at Randfontein, about 40km west of Johannesburg, on Saturday afternoon, the SAPS in Gauteng said.

The officers were carrying out routine crime prevention duties and ensuring compliance with the national coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown regulations around the West Rand area, Captain Kay Makhubele said in a statement.

"While busy performing their duties, they followed up on information received from the West Rand District crime intelligence [unit] that led them to a certain house in Aureus, in the Randfontein policing precinct, and discovered a hydroponic laboratory comprising of dagga plants and bags full of manure."

The 33-year-old male suspect was arrested and would appear in the Randfontein Magistrates' Court on charges relating to the manufacturing, dealing in, and cultivation of dagga, in contravention of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.

The South African Police Service in the West Rand issued a stern warning that dealing in dagga was still illegal, and they would act against anyone selling, cultivating, or dealing in dagga, Makhubele said.