Limpopo: The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Major General Thobeka Jozi, has lauded her team for responding swiftly and arresting a suspect who allegedly held four Zimbabwean nationals captive.
The four victims, aged between 15 and 20, were allegedly kept under lock and key after they were smuggled into the country with false promises of good jobs and better lives in South Africa. The Limpopo Hawks Organised Crime Unit members got wind of the alleged exploitation and arrested the suspect at Chebeng Village, outside Seshego on Monday.
It was also discovered that the four victims were allegedly forced to steal and work for the suspect without any payment whilst brutally assaulted if they do not comply with the suspect’s instructions.
The suspect, Raymond Sithole (25), was arrested the same day and he appeared briefly in the Seshego Magistrate Court on Tuesday. He has been remanded in custody pending further police investigations. He is expected to appear in court again next week Monday, 09 January 2017.
Major General Jozi commended the members who played part in success of the operation and warned human traffickers thereof. “We warn those engaged in human trafficking that Limpopo will never be used as a getaway to exploit the innocent and vulnerable. The operation should serve as a serious warning that we will do everything to protect victims of human trafficking and call upon our communities to work with us and report those engaged in this inhumane activity,“ she added.
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