The man (38) was arrested on 5 February following a sting operation by members of the Hawks, Crime Intelligence and the Department of Home Affairs. According to a statement by acting Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, the suspect negotiated with undercover police for the sale of four men and one woman for a total of R2 000. The suspect told the officers that he was selling the foreign nationals, who were aged between 39 and 41 years of age, for R500 per person.
He was later arrested in possession of the money handed over by police during the undercover operation.
“Investigation revealed that the man would lure fellow countrymen into South Africa, promising them job opportunities. Upon arrival, he sold them to anybody who would use them,” said Mulaudzi.
The suspect had allegedly lured his five victims to South Africa with the promise that they would be given work on a farm in the North West province, where they would pay their master R1 500 per month until he was satisfied that their debt had been paid. The victims have since been taken to a place of safety.
The man will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on charges of human trafficking and possible contravention of the Immigration Act.
