Two more suspects have been arrested in connection with a suspected human trafficking investigation in Cape Town, with both expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court this week.
The suspects, aged 25 and 35, were arrested on Tuesday, 29 September, by the Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team on charges of trafficking in persons, according to an update issued by the South African Police Service (SAPS) via social media.
Their arrests bring the number of people arrested in connection with the investigation to three, as Jasmine Maureen Robert, 29, was arrested earlier in September and remains before the courts in a separate stage of the same matter (NovaNews).
SAPS said she is expected back in court on 5 October for a Legal Aid application.
The two newly arrested suspects are scheduled to make their first appearance in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court tomorrow on Wednesday, 30 September.
Robert was arrested by the Bellville Hawks Economic Protected Resources team on 13 September after a 22-year-old woman was rescued in Woodstock.
Robert subsequently appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on a charge of trafficking in persons.
Hawks spokesperson WO Zinzi Hani said the woman had met Robert through TikTok after Robert was allegedly looking for a hairstylist. Investigators alleged that arrangements were subsequently made for the woman to travel to Cape Town.
After arriving in Cape Town, the woman was allegedly taken to a hotel and that investigators found that her passport and cellphone had been taken.
The woman allegedly escaped and went to Woodstock Police Station, where she was assisted by officers.
Robert’s matter was subsequently postponed as the court process continued, while the latest two suspects are due to make their first appearance on 30 September.
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