The provincial head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, has welcomed the arrest of a mother and son accused of human trafficking.
Kadwa expressed appreciation for the hard work displayed by the team.
The accused, Dumazile Nkosi, 51, and Thandoluhle Nkosi, 25, briefly appeared in the Springs Magistrate’s Court yesterday facing charges of human trafficking, keeping a safe house, assisting illegal immigrants evade the law as well as illegal possession of ammunition.
The accused were summoned to appear in court as additional suspects in an ongoing trafficking in persons’ case being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI)’s Vaal Rand-based Serious Corruption Investigation team.
The pair were added in the ongoing investigation as they were allegedly keeping and leasing premises where, in February last year, 47 foreign nationals were kept as well as failure to report activities related to human trafficking.
The accused in the case, Dawit Adamu, 31, was identified while attending a court case of his brother, Solomon Adamu, and subsequently arrested on October 5.
Adamu made his first appearance in the Spring Magistrate’s Court on the same day and was granted bail. He is expected to appear in court again on November 3 when he will be joined by other accused in the case.
Mother and son were remanded in custody and will appear again in court for formal bail application on October 18.
“Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights, therefore the community is to pay attention to some tips to ascertain if a person is being trafficked,” said Major General Kadwa.
Tips to check when someone is trafficked:
• Poor living conditions
• Multiple people in a cramped space
• Inability to speak to an individual alone
• Answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed
• Employer is holding identity/travel documents of employees
• Signs of physical abuse