Swift action by the metro police in Tshwane resulted in the arrest of two men implicated in suspected human trafficking of 21 undocumented Ethiopian nationals in a bus en-route to Johannesburg.
MMC for Community Safety, Grandi Theunissen, said the suspects were detained at the Moot police station and the undocumented Ethiopian citizens were interviewed by intelligence and immigration agencies on Wednesday.
He said the two suspects were nabbed during a successful operation this week by the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) K9 Uni: “The arrests and subsequent collaboration with the SAPS underscores the unwavering commitment of (the) authorities to combating this egregious violation of human rights.”
Theunissen hailed the metro police officers for acting swiftly to execute the arrest and the multiparty coalition government’s support, saying, “Through vigilance and a swift deployment of resources, your efforts to thwart a despicable incident of human trafficking were an enormous success,”
He urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicions of human trafficking or related criminal activities to the SAPS on 10111 or at their local police station.
Residents were also reminded to contact the TMPD on 012 358 7095/7096 or [email protected] for any by-law or traffic transgressions.
The arrest came two months after a bus driver and two bus conductors were caught transporting eight illegal immigrants on the R101 route near Hammanskraal.
Those suspects were accused of trying to bribe the metro police and were arrested for bribery and contravening the Immigration Act 13, 2002, by knowingly assisting a person to enter or remain in or depart from the country.
Pretoria News