Detectives from KZN rescued 33 suspected human trafficking victims from a room in Mackenzie Park, Benoni, on Sunday.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the KZN SAPS spokesperson, detectives were tracing a suspect wanted in connection with the kidnapping of a foreign national in Springfield Park, KZN, last week.

“Investigations led officers to the house in Benoni. With the assistance of SAPS specialised units, they tactically penetrated the house. During the search, they found the men cramped into a single room. One suspect was arrested,” adds Netshiunda.

At the time of publication, the police could not confirm the ages and nationalities of the victims and suspect.

Another incident

The arrest comes four months after 26 Ethiopian nationals were discovered on a property on Fifth Street, Northmead.

Captain Nomsa Sekele, the spokesperson for the Benoni Police Station, stated that on August 23 officers acted on a tip-off, claiming that the foreign nationals were held in a room of an alleged guest house.

“The men were locked in the house for about four months, after being lured into the country with the promise of jobs. The men were not forcibly brought to South Africa and therefore charged with being in the country illegally,” she said at the time.

At the time, two men, a 34-year-old Ethiopian and a 28-year-old Malawian, were arrested and charged with human trafficking.

The Ethiopian national was the alleged ‘kingpin’ who had recruited the victims while the Malawian man had been guarding the house.