Ediozi Odi has been sentenced to six life terms and an additional 129 years imprisonment for human trafficking and other charges by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The Nigerian national alongside Mahlatsi Hlatshwayo and Luke Botha were initially arrested in May 2017 after police found three girls they kept against their will at a house on 8th Street in the CBD.
The arrest came after the police received a tip-off about girls from the community. Springs Police spokesperson Captain Johannes Ramphora says at the time of the arrest, it would have been impossible for the girls to escape as they were locked in the house.
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Odi who was the mastermind behind the operation lured young girls to come and work for him under pretences.
Ramphora says girls who were from poor families were targeted and promised jobs to help them look after their families.
“The one girl who was held was the one who spoke up.
“She said the life of drugs and prostitution she had been forced into was not what they had agreed on and she wanted to go home.
“The suspects turned these girls into drug addicts and sex slaves,” says Ramphora.
In a statement released a day after the sentenced was handed down, Government Communication and Information System’s acting director-general, Phumla Williams, says the landmark ruling showed that those found guilty of human trafficking and similar crimes would receive the harshest sentences possible.
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“Government remains committed to ensuring that all South Africans are and feel safe.
“Our country is at a place in time where the crimes against women and children are reaching alarming levels and the government will not allow this atrocious behaviour to continue in South Africa.
“This scourge of abuse, violence, femicide, and human trafficking cannot go unchallenged and requires every citizen and organisation to play their role to create a safer place for all,” says Williams.
Mahlatsi Hlatshwayo was given a five-year sentence which was suspended for five years.
Luke Botha was given a three-year sentence which was suspended for three years.
Ramphora added that many cases are outstanding that have yet to come before the court.
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