Three young women from Botswana narrowly escaped being trafficked out of South Africa after police acted swiftly on a tip-off and intercepted them at OR Tambo International Airport before they could be flown abroad.

The women, aged between 20 and 23, were rescued on Friday by members of the SAPS INTERPOL NCB Pretoria unit and the Germiston Serious Organised Crime Investigation team.

The Witness reports authorities said the trio had been lured by an international human trafficking syndicate that promised them lucrative jobs in Sierra Leone.

The women had reportedly travelled from Botswana to Johannesburg and were scheduled to connect through Nairobi to Sierra Leone when authorities intercepted them.

According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, the rescue followed a tip-off from the Botswana High Commission in Pretoria, which alerted INTERPOL to assist in tracing the missing women.

“The victims were rescued at OR Tambo International Airport before they could be trafficked out of the country,” said Van Wyk.

“Preliminary investigations suggest they were deceived by a syndicate operating under the guise of job recruitment.”

Traffickers use social media to target vulnerable

The rescue highlights the growing trend of human traffickers using social media platforms to target vulnerable young people with false promises of lucrative overseas work.

In October, at least 41 South Africans were stranded along the Thailand-Myanmar border after falling victim to fake job adverts promising “high-paying positions in Thailand”.

The victims were lured via social media and ended up being moved into Myanmar under the control of trafficking syndicates.

This month, the South African government announced it would help repatriate 17 young South African men, aged 20-39, who were lured to engage in mercenary work in Ukraine under false promises of lucrative employment.

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