POLOKWANE – Two South African men, aged 27 and 37-years-old, will appear before the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (September 26) on human trafficking charges following their arrest on the N1 North on Friday.

The men and eight illegal immigrants were arrested by members of the provincial tracking team and the Crime Intelligence Unit in collaboration with private security after their vehicle was intercepted en-route to Gauteng.

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Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said police acted on intelligence about foreign nationals being smuggled into the country through the Beitbridge Border Post.

“Leads were followed and the described vehicle was spotted travelling along the N1 North. The vehicle was tactically stopped and searched and police discovered eight illegal immigrants, who are all men, and two South African males, a driver and his passenger,” his statement read.

Ledwaba said the duo failed to give a satisfactory explanation about the origin and the destination of the people they were transporting.

“All of them were immediately arrested. The foreign nationals are from different countries and are aged between 18 and 25-years-old. They face charges of Contravention of the Immigration Act and the other two suspects facing human trafficking charges,” he said.

Ledwaba said preliminary investigations revealed the illegal immigrants were smuggled into the country from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and were kept at a house in Louis Trichardt.

The provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter to curb human trafficking incidents in Limpopo.