According to a press release issued by the Hawks, two suspects aged 32, were arrested on 24 June and 39 victims, including seven women, nine children under the age of five and 23 males all over the age of 18 were rescued from a farm in Belfast during a multidisciplinary operation by members of Nelspruit Serious Organised Crime, Flying Squad, Department of Labour and Home Affairs.
Information gathered at the scene suggests that the modus operandi entails the victims being brought into South Africa in a taxi from Mozambique until Lydenburg, where the son of the farm owner and one trafficker will allegedly meet the taxi driver then pay.
The victims are then forced into farm labour.
The rescued victims have been taken to a place of safety.
The two suspects will appear in Belfast Magistrate’s Court this morning on charges of trafficking in persons.
The investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected.
