The case of five alleged traffickers who were arrested on New Year’s eve in Sunnyside, Pretoria, has been postponed to next Monday.
The four men and a South African woman briefly appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court where the matter was postponed for further investigation.
They were arrested after police rescued a 17-year-old who reportedly left her Hammanskraal home in March last year and a 25-year-old in a Sunnyside flat after receiving information from the Human Trafficking Hotline.
The accused are facing charges of contravening the Trafficking in Persons Act for the purpose of sexual exploitation
The matter was heard in-camera after submissions from legal parties that an identity parade is yet to take place.
The court ordered that their identity be held until the next appearance. The matter was remanded for a formal bail application and further investigations. The state is yet to confirm the addresses and legal status of the Nigerians in the country.
Two of the five suspects are fugitives who had been on the run since September 2019.
Human trafficking case in court:
