Three men, one woman arrested in Musina for human trafficking

The South African Police Service has nabbed three males and one female in a suspected human trafficking during a routine patrol along the N1 public road at the Beitbridge truck stop.

The South African Police Service has nabbed three males and one female in a suspected human trafficking during a routine patrol along the N1 public road at the Beitbridge truck stop.

Published Dec 14, 2024

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Three men and one woman were arrested in connection with human trafficking in Musina, Limpopo police said.

Police were patrolling along the N1 public road at Beitbridge truck stop on Thursday December 12, at around 7.30pm when they made the arrest, Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Thakeng said.

"They stopped a white Toyota Quantum minibus carrying four adults and ten children comprising of six girls and four boys," he said.

"Police requested them to produce documents and three males aged between 28 and 45 allegedly produced valid documents but a female suspect, aged 39 together with the children aged between five and 17 failed to provide them and were immediately taken under police custody."

Upon further investigation, the police discovered that the minibus was travelling from Zimbabwe and was destined to Johannesburg, Gauteng.

The driver of the minibus told the police that he was taking the children to visit their parents in the area. The victims were later taken to Musina Victim Empowerment Center for their protection.

The suspects appeared before Musina Magistrate's Court on Friday December 13, and are facing a charge of human trafficking while the 39-year-old woman will be facing an additional charge of Contravention of Immigration Act.

They were remanded in police custody and their case was postponed to next week Wednesday, December 18, for bail application and further investigations. Police investigations are continuing.

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