Dylan Bettencourt
Gauteng police have rescued a 13-year-old girl from being sold to a human trafficking syndicate for R40 million by her step mother and step grandmother.
A combined police force operating in the Vaal and the Vanderbijlpark areas made the rescue on Tuesday.
Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Philani Nkwalase said after receiving validated information about plans to sell the minor for R40 million, the police lured the 37-year-old step mother and the 56-year-old step grandmother into believing that they wanted to buy the girl and offered R30,000 as a deposit.
“After the two accepted the R30,000 entrapment cash, the police team seized it and electronic gadgets for further investigation,” he said.
“The rescued minor was taken to a place of safety.”
Two suspects were arrested and charged with trafficking in persons, conspiracy to sell a minor for sexual exploitation, abduction, and theft of a child. They will appear in the Heidelberg Magistrate’s Court.
Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, head of the Hawks in Gauteng said it was sad that the family members were willing to perform a crime like this against a child. He praised the police for rescuing the girl swiftly and preventing further harm to come to her.
“We applaud the investigation team for executing the operation without anyone being harmed, and the child being rescued safely,” he said.
This comes after the Salvation Army stated that human trafficking was on the rise in South Africa and that 80% of the calls the organisation receives are related to trafficking in persons.
The Hawks’ Serious Corruption and Organised Crime Investigation team, the Vanderbijlpark police team and the Family Violence and Sexual Offences Unit made the rescue on Tuesday.
Image source: @ConstructionExecutive
