Nineteen illegal immigrants were remanded in custody by the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on March 1 for contravention of the Immigration Act. Their case was remanded to March 8 for the services of an interpreter to be arranged.

The provincial Hawks spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said the accused were arrested during a multidisciplinary intelligence-driven operation conducted by the Mbombela-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, Crime Intelligence Nelspruit, provincial detectives, the Nelspruit Vispol team as well as the Local Criminal Record Centre.

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“Information that led them to a house in KaMagugu was received. On arrival at the address, the gate was locked. However, the team managed to gain entry. They found 19 males in a three-bedroom house without furniture.

“A preliminary investigation established that 14 of those detained were Bangladeshis and five were Pakistanis. The police recovered 18 passports, 27 cellphones, and chargers. The items were packaged together and kept by the caretaker, Juilah Isangs. The suspects who could not communicate in English had passports that had not been stamped by South African immigration,” she said.

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Sekgotodi said the state separated the cases for proper charging of the accused. Isangs was charged under the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013. “He was also remanded in custody and his next appearance will be on March 8,” she said.