Six people have been arrested in Mayfair, Johannesburg, on suspicion of human trafficking and kidnapping after two victims of Indian origin were rescued after being trafficked to South Africa.
The two Indian women, aged between 20 and 24, were rescued in an operation carried out by a multidisciplinary team consisting of various units within the South African Police Service (SAPS) led by the anti-kidnapping task team.
“The team consisting of private security received intelligence on a Johannesburg-based human trafficking network preying on Indian women,” national police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said.
She said the women were allegedly enticed to the country with false promises of employment.
“Upon arrival, they were kept against their will, offered to clients, leading to sexual encounters,” said Mathe.
Working on a tip-off, police identified and pounced on a commercial site in Mayfair on Wednesday, seizing an array of cellphones, documents, passports and cash.
The six men are expected to face charges of human trafficking, sex trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion.
Mathe said they were expected to appear before court on Friday.
In an unrelated, but similar incident last year, IOL reported that police arrested three individuals suspected of human trafficking and rescued three Thai women who were being held for sexual exploitation in a house in Garsfontein, east of Pretoria.
The Hawks were alerted to the situation when one of the victims managed to escape and reported to the Thai Embassy in Pretoria that she had been detained for sexual exploitation.
This led to the involvement of law enforcement and social services.
IOL