26 ‘trafficked’ Ethiopian men found in house in Northmead
The men were apparently brought into the country after being promised jobs.
The SAPS has confirmed they arrested two men in connection with the alleged trafficking of 26 Ethiopian nationals found on a property on Fifth Street, Northmead, just after midnight on August 23.
The two men, a 34-year-old Ethiopian and a 28-year-old Malawian, will face charges of human trafficking when they appear in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court tomorrow (August 25).
“In the early hours of Wednesday, we received a tip-off about a guest house in the Northmead area with Ethiopians inside.
“After monitoring the guest house, we found 26 Ethiopians held in the house. We also found a Malawian national, who was acting as their guard,” said Benoni SAPS spokesperson Nomsa Sekele.
According to Sekele, the men had been locked up in the house for about four months after being lured into the country with the promise of jobs.
She said the police arrested the men and their Malawian guard, adding after an investigation, they managed to trace the person allegedly responsible for bringing the men into the country.
“We managed to trace and arrest the ‘kingpin’ recruiting these people. He is an Ethiopian national and he, along with the guard at the house, will face charges of human trafficking,” she said.
She confirmed none of the men were forcibly brought to South Africa. However, they will face charges of being in the country illegally.
Nothing suspicious
When the Benoni City Times visited the area, it was quiet and calm, like nothing happened overnight.
On the property, we found two windows smashed and burglar bars broken. Some of the burglar bars on the windows were reinforced with steel bars. The garage door was also broken.
We could not gain entry into the house. However we peeped through the window and noticed that the living area had no furniture. There was a single mattress.
In the kitchen there was a bag of rice on the floor, several dirty pots on the stove and chopped onions on the table.
In the storage room, we spotted steel bars and refuse bags filled with rotting garbage and more onions on the floor.
A neighbour, who spoke to us anonymously, said at around midnight, she and her husband woke up to sounds of shattering glass on the property next to their house.
“My husband and I were asleep. When we heard the glass shatter, we got a big fright. When he opened the curtain, he saw four people jump into our yard.
“They jumped over our gate into the street and ran away.”
She said they thought it was a robbery, so they phoned the Avenues Residents’ Association chairperson Marinda Beukes and local security company, Super Cops, who found nothing after inspecting the property.
However, as she and her husband walked back into their house, they heard a commotion again.
They saw a scuffle and another man came out and ran away but was caught on one of the streets.
Beukes then called the police and after inspecting the house, they found people kept on the property, apparently against their will.
The neighbour said they gave the men food because they were starving.
“It was shocking because I was here next door the whole time but heard and saw nothing suspicious,” she said.
Beukes stressed the importance of unity.
“As the ARA, our motto is ‘love thy neighbours’. It’s important for neighbours to stand together and know what’s happening in their streets.”In a statement, Super Cops corroborated the neighbour’s account.
“We responded to the scene. Upon arrival, two more males came out and informed us there were more people detained in the house against their will and had been for four months.
“The victims managed to escape by breaking the burglar bar and the window inside the room where they were held.”
Sekele said this is the first such incident in Ekurhuleni.
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