South Africa seizes $61 Million drug haul at Zimbabwe border, three arrested

South Africa's border police stopped a truck from Malawi that was driving into the country with drugs worth nearly one billion rand ($61 million), authorities said on Thursday.

The bust at the border with Zimbabwe on Wednesday underscores concerns that the region is emerging as a key player in the international drugs trade.

In an eight-hour search, security forces uncovered more than 700 kilograms (1,540 pounds) of methaqualone, which is used to make the highly addictive drug Mandrax, the border authority said.

The estimated street value of the haul was almost one billion rand, it said in a statement.

Two Malawi nationals and one Zambian were arrested, a spokeswoman told AFP.

While South Africa has a strong market for mandrax, the statement said investigations were underway to determine "the intended destination of the substance and whether the syndicate forms part of a broader transnational criminal network operating within the region or globally".

In the past two years, there have been at least four major busts of drug-manufacturing labs in South Africa involving Mexican nationals, raising suspicions that Mexican cartels are trying to establish themselves in the region.