The shocking sight of half-naked teenage boys walking through Mulbarton, Johannesburg, led authorities to rescue the teens and arrest a suspected human trafficker. Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers were patrolling Mulbarton when they were alerted to a bizarre situation. The officers were informed that a group of eight half-naked teenagers was walking on foot on The Broads.
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the JMPD questioned further and established that they were foreign nationals who could not speak English. The officers were also informed that there were two more boys who had already been taken away in a blue Volkswagen Jetta. The JMPD, the South African Police Service (Saps) Mondeor, and the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation’s Trafficking in Persons section optimised the information.
“The vehicle was later intercepted along the street, but the driver fled, resulting in a high-speed chase,” Mogale said. The case ended on Commissioner Street in the Johannesburg CBD with the subsequent arrest of the suspect and the rescue of the two half-naked teenagers. The suspect will appear in the Booysens Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 08 January 2025, on charges of being an illegal immigrant and suspected trafficking in persons. Mogale added that more investigations are underway.
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