The two men and two women arrested in connection with human trafficking charges appeared briefly in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court on 24 January and were remanded in custody.
Gauteng police spokesperson, Captain Kay Makhubela told Randburg Sun, “They are due to appear again on 2 February for a bail application.”
The four suspects, according to Honeydew police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan, they were arrested at a lodge in Ferndale where police rescued an 18-year-old KwaZulu-Natal girl who had allegedly been abducted in Durban’s South Beach’s red-light district, and on arriving in Gauteng, was forced into prostitution.
“The teenager met a 22-year-old suspect in South Beach. She was brought to Gauteng believing she would be given a job and earn up to R20 000 [a month],” said Muthan.
The girl was allegedly made to take drugs and drink alcohol and was forced into prostitution. It is also alleged that nine other women identified as prostitutes working at the lodge were rescued. The teenager was taken to a place of safety, where she received counselling.
Makhubela said the case had been taken over by the Hawks, who were investigating further.
