JOHANNESBURG – A multi-agency operation in Johannesburg has resulted in the rescue of ten teenage boys and the arrest of a 47-year-old foreign national on suspected human trafficking charges.
The rescue operation was conducted by Fox Security, Johannesburg Metro Police, the Mondeor police and the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation’s Trafficking in Persons unit.
According to a Hawks media statement, the incident began when Johannesburg Metro Police officers on patrol duties in Mulbarton were alerted to eight half-naked teenagers walking along Broad Street. Upon investigation, officers discovered the teenagers were foreign nationals who could not speak English.
Police were informed that two additional boys had been taken away in a blue Volkswagen Jetta. The vehicle was subsequently intercepted, but the driver fled, leading to a high-speed chase that ended on Commissioner Street with the suspect’s arrest and the rescue of the remaining two half-naked teenagers.
Court appearance scheduled
The suspect is set to appear in the Booysens Magistrates Court on Thursday, 8 January 2025, facing charges of being an illegal immigrant and suspected trafficking in persons. Further investigations are currently underway.
Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in Gauteng, praised the multi-disciplinary effort demonstrated by the team in combating trafficking in persons in the province.
