A member of Interpol carrying documents arrives at court for the appearance of suspects arrested in connection with a high-level investigation. (Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images)
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- Three young women believed to be trafficking victims were rescued at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday.
- The women are from Botswana and were apparently lured by a trafficking syndicate with promises of jobs in Sierra Leone.
- Interpol and the Germiston Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit intervened after the Botswana High Commission was understood to have raised the alarm over the missing women.
Three young women from Botswana have been rescued from a suspected human trafficking ring at OR Tambo International Airport.
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A syndicate allegedly lured the women, aged between 20 and 23, via social media, promising them lucrative jobs in Sierra Leone.
According to SAPS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, the women were en route to Sierra Leone via South Africa and Nairobi before police stepped in on Friday.
“Members of Interpol and the Germiston Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit intercepted the victims shortly after they landed at OR Tambo International Airport,” said Van Wyk.
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It is understood the Botswana High Commission in Pretoria raised the alarm after the women were reported missing and requested Interpol’s assistance to locate them.
An investigation has been launched to identify and apprehend those responsible.
The women’s rescue comes against the backdrop of a human trafficking and kidnapping awareness campaign at OR Tambo International Airport earlier this week.
The campaign was spearheaded by the Gauteng Legislature’s Chair of Committees, Dulton Adams, who highlighted the airport’s vulnerability as a hub for exploitation and emphasised Gauteng’s position as an economic and logistical hub that traffickers target.
Adams said:
Traffickers exploit the very systems meant to facilitate freedom of movement at our airports, highways, and borders, to profit from human suffering.
He stressed the importance of collective action to tackle human trafficking and ensure safety and hope for all.
“Together, we can make Gauteng and South Africa places where no human being is bought, sold, or silenced, and where every journey begins in safety and hope,” he said.
