Suspected trafficker (47) nabbed after rescue of 10 half-naked teenagers in Joburg

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the Hawks, have arrested a 47-year-old suspected human trafficker in Mulbarton on Tuesday, after 10 teenage boys whose identities are yet to be confirmed were found in the area.    

The arrest was a result of a joint operation by the private security company Fox, Johannesburg Metro Police, and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS). 

The teams responded to a tipoff that a group of boys was seen walking naked in Mulbarton.

Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale explained: "Upon further inquiries, the officers established that the teenagers 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 VW Jetta.

"The vehicle was later intercepted along the street, but the driver fled, resulting in a high-speed chase which ended in Commissioner Street with the subsequent arrest of the suspect and the rescue of the two half-naked teenagers."

Mogale added: "The provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in Gauteng, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, lauded the multi-disciplinary effort displayed by the team in the combating of trafficking in persons in the province."
    
The suspect will make his first court appearance in the Boysean Magistrates Court on Thursday on charges of being an illegal immigrant and suspected human trafficking.