Johannesburg – At least 90 Ethiopian nationals, who were allegedly being held against their will under inhumane conditions in Sunnydale Ridge, Ekurhuleni, have been rescued.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the South African Police Service (SAPS) Special Task Force (STF) was tracing a victim of kidnapping when they discovered the undocumented Ethiopians.
Brigadier Mathe said the Ethiopians were found “locked up, confined, and packed into rooms”.
She said a multidisciplinary team led by the STF rescued the Ethiopians and the kidnapped victim that they had initially traced.
“The victim was kidnapped in Benoni on Tuesday afternoon, where after his kidnappers immediately started demanding hundreds of thousands of [rand in] ransom money from his family,” Brigadier Mathe said
“The Ethiopian nationals were all taken to hospital for medical care.
“Two alleged human traffickers and kidnappers who were found on the property have been arrested.”
Brigadier Mathe said the arrested suspects were likely to face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking.
They are expected to appear before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court soon.
“The case has been handed over to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) for further investigations,” Brigadier Mathe said.
“This operation would not have been successful without the work of the following units, crime intelligence, organised crime detectives, Sandringham and Daveyton SAPS as well as private security.”
