A 40-year-old foreign national is in police custody following the rescue of ten teenage boys in Mulbarton on Wednesday, in an incident now being investigated as a possible human trafficking case.
The operation began when private security personnel on patrol in the area spotted a group of eight teenagers walking half-naked and immediately alerted the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD). JMPD officers, upon intercepting the group, found the boys were foreign nationals who could not speak English.
During initial inquiries, the officers learned that two more boys from the same group had been taken away in a blue Volkswagen Jetta. This information triggered a rapid response.
According to Colonel Katlego Mogale, provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), JMPD members pursued the vehicle into the Johannesburg Central Business District. The suspect was successfully cornered and arrested on Commissioner Street, and the two additional boys were rescued unharmed.
“The members of Fox security… saw these boys walking half naked without shirts or pants and they alerted the members of the Johannesburg metro police,” Colonel Mogale stated.
The ten victims, all believed to be minors, have been placed at a designated place of safety where they are receiving medical attention. Investigators are working to confirm their countries of origin and how they entered South Africa. Due to the severe language barrier, authorities are in the process of securing an interpreter to assist with communications.
Colonel Mogale confirmed the investigation is in its early stages but is focusing on serious charges. “As for the suspect, yes, we are looking into charges of trafficking in persons for exploitation purposes,” she said. The suspect currently faces charges related to being in the country illegally and trafficking in persons.
Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of further suspects or connections to wider organized crime syndicates, noting that the incident bears similarities to previous cases investigated east of Johannesburg. The Hawks, along with local SAPS, are leading the ongoing probe to determine the full circumstances of how the boys came to be in their distressed state and the intended purpose of their alleged trafficking.