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).
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.
Today, however, they are used as a recreational drug.
Police, who were on a mission to reclaim hijacked buildings, said they seized codeine cough syrup and processed dagga worth R2 million, set for transportation to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Eight suspects were arrested after the contraband was found, and they face charges related to illicit possession and dealing, as well as illegal occupation of a hijacked building.
