A drug syndicate used children barely in their teens to sell their contraband to customers in Lenasia, south of Joburg. This is a claim that prosecution authorities make in an indictment of six people charged with racketeering and illegal dealing in drugs.

The State has singled out Ishmail Manjoo, 47, and his common-law wife Charmaine Magdeline Peters, 45, as the syndicate's ringleaders. Their four co-accused are Ibriam Khan, 37, Liaquad Ali Salejee, 34, Aswin Nana, 31, and Juleiga Allie, 31.

All six accused have made brief appearances in court, and the case is set to begin in the Johannesburg High Court in July.The indictment gives an outline of what the State says was the group's modus operandi. The authorities say the syndicate operated from two houses belonging to the Gauteng Department of Housing. Manjoo and Peters lived in Lenasia Extension 2 in a house they had converted into a "drugs spaza shop", serving Lenasia customers and others from neighbouring areas, according to the prosecuting authorities.

The indictment says the two used their own children, aged 13 and 15, to sell the drugs when they were not at home. Manjoo owns another business property that he allegedly used as a factory to manufacture some of the drugs, the prosecution authorities say.

The second house, which is also said to belong to the Housing Department, is alleged to have been occupied by Khan and his partner, as well as a man known as "Tony", and their children. Allie, who is Khan's sister, is alleged to have assisted with the sale of drugs at these government-owned houses.

The State says some of the drugs were manufactured from a nearby property situated at industrial premises in Lenasia Extension 6. The premises were registered in Manjoo's name. The State will claim in court that Manjoo used one of the premises registered in his name, and a caravan parked on it, as a drug laboratory to manufacture and store tik.

The State outlines in the documents how each member of the network was connected and what their responsibilities were. When the trial begins on July 26, the State will lead evidence on how police agents were sent to the government-owned houses to buy drugs from Manjoo, Peters and Allie.