Parkmore residents stunned after 44 Ethiopians found trapped in suburban home

JOHANNESBURG - A resident in Parkmore, Sandton, has expressed shock after 44 Ethiopian nationals were found to have been trapped inside a house. 

Matt Carbell, who often walks on 10th Street, says he has never seen any suspicious activities in the area. 

The house in the gated community has been closed off for police investigations. 

On Thursday, the community at Parkmore was alerted that their private security guards had heard screams from the property during patrols, and they contacted police, who accessed the property. 

Only one of the 44 men could speak English, and even he could not explain how they entered the country or got entrapped in the house. 

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Police have taken the group for processing for being in the country illegally.

“It's terrible and I really hope that the people who were holding them are really brought to justice and put behind bars for a really long time because it really is sad,” said Carbell.

A crime researcher, Thabang Bogopa, says this is usually in cases of human trafficking done to trap the kidnapped from communicating with the general public and exposing the syndicate.

“You find that even communication is limited or that one person who understands their indigent language to come communicate with them, the purpose for that is so that is so that the criminal syndicate is not exposed.”

The police have said they are trying to determine whether this is another case of human trafficking.

This comes after three other cases of illegal immigrants trapped in Lombardy East and Parkhurst this year alone.