National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole says the rise in child kidnappings in South Africa has prompted police management to engage all Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries and international Police Organisation (Interpol) to highlight the seriousness of human trafficking.
Recently, Free State police received reports of a human trafficking syndicate operating in Bloemfontein.
In Limpopo, a series of viral social media messages circulating in Polokwane, allege that there have been reports of kidnapping and human trafficking of women.
Briefing the media in Pretoria on alert Level 1 lockdown regulations, Sithole said they were working with an integrated trans-national crime prevention network.
“At transnational level, we have got transnational organised crime operations that we share with the neighbouring countries – the SADC countries. But it is also a crime that we are looking at Interpol level. These are integrated and multi-disciplinary investigations. We are also working on transnational crime prevention framework,” explains Sitole.
Below is the full briefing by the Minister of Police and National Police Commissioner:
Human trafficking on the rise
At least more than one person is trafficked in South Africa per month.
This emerged during a Social Development Trafficking in Person’s Indaba last year in Mpumalanga.
The number is inclusive of children and adults lured into the country under false pretences:
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