Police have rescued 90 undocumented Ethiopians who were allegedly being kept against their will and under inhumane conditions in Sunnydale Ridge, Johannesburg.
According to the police, the discovery was made when a multi-disciplinary team led by the Special Task Force (STF) unit were tracing a victim of kidnapping for ransom when they also made the discovery of the undocumented nationals who were found locked up, confined and packed into rooms.
“Investigations are underway as to how these nationals were trafficked into South Africa.
Amongst the Ethiopian nationals was the kidnapped victim who was also rescued.
The victim was kidnapped in Benoni on Tuesday afternoon, whereupon his kidnappers immediately started demanding hundreds of thousands of ransom money from his family,” said police national spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
Two alleged human traffickers and kidnappers who were found on the property have been arrested.
“They are likely to face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking and are expected to appear before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court soon,” added Mathe.
All the rescued Ethiopian nationals were all taken to hospital for medical care.
Mathe said the case has been handed over to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (HAWKS) for further investigations.
