Maputo, Mozambique — A man accused of masterminding the clandestine production of the drug mandrax under cover of a Maputo plastics factory has been arrested in a joint operation mounted by the Mozambican and South African police.

Radio Mozambique reported on Friday that the police arrested Andre Timana who held 50 percent of the shares in Plasmex, a privatised plastics company.

In February 2000, the police raided Plasmex, and found that, in reality, this factory was producing mandrax. The police seized the machinery used and over 100,000 mandrax tablets.

Three weeks ago, the Maputo City court sentenced Timana's business partner, Jacinto Nhamoneque, who held 30 percent of Plasmex, to 20 years imprisonment.

Also sentenced to 20 years was a Tanzanian citizen normally resident in London, Jerry Dean, accused of bringing the machine used to make the tablets into Mozambique.

But it was always believed that Timana had been the brains behind the mandrax scheme. At the time of the trial, he was on the run and his whereabouts were unknown.

Co-operation between the Mozambican and South African police tracked him down in South Africa. He was deported to Mozambique on Thursday, and is currently in custody in the maximum security prison on the outskirts of Maputo.