German Arrested at OR Tambo International Airport for Human Trafficking, Lured Women via Dating Site
- A German man was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport after he allegedly tried to smuggle two women out of South Africa
- The women were allegedly recruited through a dating site and lured with a promise of employment
- The 56-year-old appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court and is facing charges of trafficking in people and fraud
Trisha Pillay is a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg. Beginning her 13-year-long career at eNCA, she honed her reporting skills and coverage of crime and court cases, which she further developed at The Citizen newspaper, African News Network and Newzroom Afrika. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email: trisha.pillay@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.
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JOHANNESBURG - A German man was arrested in Johannesburg for attempting to traffic two women to Croatia via South Africa.
German man arrested
According to The Sowetan and Airports Company SA, he was intercepted while trying to board a flight to Croatia with two Madagascan women aged 32 and 29.
The 56-year-old appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court on Friday on charges of trafficking in people and fraud. He was remanded pending a bail application.
The suspect was arrested by a joint police team led by the West Rand Hawks' serious organised crime investigation unit, working with Interpol, Crime Intelligence and Gauteng's provincial border policing unit.
The women were allegedly recruited through a dating site and lured with a promise of employment. They were found in possession of fraudulent Italian passports.
ACSA's group executive of enterprise security, Mzwandile Petros, said:
"Acsa would like to congratulate the various law enforcement agencies involved in making the arrests. The apprehension was made possible because of the increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the security team at Acsa.
“Acsa takes a zero-tolerance approach to any criminal activity at its airports. Human traffickers will be arrested and will face the full might of the law.”
Netizens stunned
People in South Africa congratulated the police for saving the two ladies before they could board the flight. Some people cannot believe there are people like this in the world.
Here are some of the reactions:
@Sthera Simthe said:
"South Africa is just a country where everyone comes from their country to do their dirty things, then vanish after."
@Shadreck K Mulli commented:
"When Germany talks back, this case will be history."
@John Bolla shared:
"If he was a citizen of an African country, this post was going to have thousands of xenophobic comments."
@Lee-Ann Weston exclaimed:
"Disgusting human being. I hope he gets locked up!"
Hawks highlight human trafficking problem in Gauteng
In a related story, Briefly News reported that the South African crime-fighting unit Hawks shared a concerning warning for the public about the Gauteng area.
The crime-fighting unit identified Gauteng as a centre of human trafficking that they will pay attention to.
People thought it was harrowing to see the report, and many complained that human trafficking had been a big problem in the Gauteng province.
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Source: Briefly News
