2 women rescued & six men arrested in Joburg human trafficking bust

Two Indian women who were lured to the country have been rescued, after a multi-disciplinary team pounced on a suspected human-trafficking group in Mayfair, Joburg.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the women aged between 20 and 24 years of age were rescued by the team consisting of various units led by the police’s anti-kidnapping task team.

“The team [also] consisting of private security received intelligence on a Johannesburg-based human trafficking network preying on Indian women,” she said.

“These women were allegedly enticed to the country with false promises of employment. Where upon arrival they were kept against their will, offered to clients leading to sexual encounters.”

The police stormed the identified address and commercial site on Wednesday, seizing an array of cellphones, numerous documents including passports and cash for further investigation.

Six men were arrested, and are expected to face charges of human trafficking, sex trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion. They are expected to appear before court on Friday.

Human trafficking on the rise

This comes two weeks after Provincial head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa said the number of human trafficking incidents were on the rise in the province.

He said this is due to the province being an economic hub, among other factors.

Kadwa said the Hawks had intensified its response to information relating to human trafficking and smuggling of immigrants in the last three years, and has managed to crack some big cases.

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