Two Zimbabweans are facing drug dealing charges after the R2 million ‘dagga and codeine’ bust in northern Limpopo in September this year. They were taken into custody after 40 bales of eSwatini cannabis and assorted bottles of Benylin with codeine, Bronclear and Astra pain medication were found in the long-haul truck they were driving that was intercepted near Thabazimbi.
The seizure not only disrupted a major smuggling network, but also spotlights the codeine crisis gripping South Africa, where medicines like Benylin are abused as “poor man’s cocaine.” The bust also highlights the ongoing battle against drug smuggling in Limpopo, a province riddled with porous borders and rural roads perfect for traffickers – the ‘cannabis and codeine corridor’.
The South African Pharmacy Council is alarmed at the rise in codeine abuse in South Africa. It says “the continuous misuse and abuse of codeine-containing medicines is a cause of great concern for the profession as many of the perpetrators and victims of this misuse are the youth of this country. The normalisation of this misuse in popular culture and the subliminal endorsement by public figures has not helped in addressing this issue”.
Health experts warn that codeine is dangerous because it hooks fast, is increasingly available and cheap in rural areas and that abuse can cause respiratory failure and dependency
Centralnews.co.za reports that codeine abuse has hit Limpopo youth hard, with clinics reporting a 20% rise in overdoses since 2023. Nationally, codeine seizures topped 1 million bottles in 2024, according to SAPS, which says most of the medical contraband is smuggled into South Africa from Zimbabwe or Ethiopia. A 2024 study linked it to 15% of Limpopo’s rehab cases, with rural areas like Sekhukhune suffering most.
Benylin with codeine, a cough syrup, is legal with prescriptions, but abused when mixed with soda for a cheap high. It is nicknamed “lean” or “kush” and street value is at around R200 a bottle, with addicts risking health for the opioid buzz. Bronclear and Astra add to the mix, easing pain but fuelling addiction.
The main routes through the ‘cannabis and codeine corridor’ are the R510 through Thabazimbi which feeds a number of small border crossings into Botswana and Zimbabwe and the various roads that lead from eSwatini through eastern Limpopo, where they meet at Beit Bridge, the main transit point between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Cross border cartels use generally use large trucks for bulk hauls as well as the ‘bakkie trade’ for smaller consignments using a number of roads through the region.
Limpopo’s R510 is a known smuggling path, winding through farms and villages with little patrol. Groblersbrug, the endpoint, is a busy border post for cattle and goods, but drugs slip through amid lax checks. This haul echoes a May 2025 bust on the same road, where police seized R8 million in dagga from a similar truck.
Beitbridge itself has become a key transit point for cannabis trafficking between southern African countries. This year alone, nearly half a ton of cannabis has been seized at the Beitbridge.
Police say Limpopo in general is a smuggling hotspot, with 1,200 ‘dagga arrests’ in 2024 and R500 million of cannabis seized, most of it from eSwatini. They say “Swazi dagga is potent and profitable” and illegal production in that country is on the rise.
The Provincial Organised Crime Unit head Colonel Malesela Ledwaba says resources available to police the ‘corridor’ are thin – it has only 200 officers to patrol an affected area of 125 000 square kilometres. He says SAPS is working closely with local community policing forums and that this collaboration, augmented by anonymous tip-offs, has led to a 30% increase in arrests this year. Police say drug trafficking in Limpopo is also linked to stock theft which shows a spike during ‘drug runs’, particularly in the Thabazimbi area.
Centralnews.co.za details the R2 million ‘cannabis and codeine’ bust:
The drama unfolded around midday on Saturday, 14 September 2025, when a tip-off reached the Northam and Thabazimbi police stations about a suspicious truck loaded with drugs.
Officers from the Provincial Organised Crime Unit and local security sprang into action, setting up a roadblock on the R510—a quiet route linking Northam to Lephalale and the Botswana border at Groblersbrug.
The truck, driven by the suspects, matched the description: a heavy vehicle hauling cargo across the bushveld. The truck was stopped and a thorough search revealed the hidden stash: 40 tightly packed bales of high-grade Swazi dagga, a potent strain smuggled from Eswatini, stashed in the trailer’s compartments.
Nearby, boxes of over-the-counter medicines—Benylin cough syrup laced with codeine, Bronclear expectorant, and Astra painkillers—were found, enough to fuel street abuse for months.
The total street value hit R2 million, a fortune in a province where average households earn under R5,000 monthly.
Col Ledwaba noted the suspects’ silence: “The suspects failed to account for the origin of the items.” No permits or explanations surfaced, pointing to a cross-border syndicate.
The truck, likely rented or stolen, was impounded.
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