Five Nigerians Arrested In South Africa For Sex Trafficking
Five Nigerian nationals have been arrested after 11 women were found to be working as prostitutes at brothels masquerading as bed-and-breakfast accommodation.
Some of the women claim they were lured in the country after being promised jobs.
The five have been charged with human trafficking.
Two of the men were arrested in Rustenburg and three in Kuruman on Sunday morning around 6am.
When the Hawks arrived at the three properties, they found six South African women, three Lesotho nationals as well as one woman from Zimbabwe and another from Zambia. Some of the women were still sleeping, while others were already servicing clients.
All four foreign women had expired passports in their possession at the time of the raids, according to the Hawks.
Nomthandaso Mnisi, Northern Cape Hawks spokesperson said it was not yet known how the women ended up in the brothel but some of the women alleged that they were lured into the country with promises of jobs.
Mnisi said that the five suspects did not live on the three properties. South Africans took to tweeter to make the human trafficking in South Africa and #Nigerians Must Go hashtag trend.
The @HomeAffairsSA must divulge the immigration status of the 5 Nigerians arrested for Sex trafficking with immediate effect, South Africans deserve to know how these Nigerian criminals who pose so much danger to society were allowed to enter our country #NigeriansMustGo
— Alex zizi Dlamini (@AlexZiziDlamin1) September 27, 2020
“Although the women have not confirmed if they work for the suspects, they stay in their property and pay them R500 rent a day.
“An undisclosed amount of money was seized in all premises. Receipt books and three vehicles that were used in the commission if crime were also confiscated.
“We have charged the suspects with alleged trafficking in persons and we are working with the Department of Home Affairs to check their status in the country,” she said.
Mnisi said the youngest of the 10 women is 20 years old while the oldest is 39.
She also confirmed that they had been investigating the men for some time and were currently interviewing the women to get more information that will help their case.
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