The Citizen reports that two suspects have appeared at the Belfast Magistrate’s Court on charges of trafficking in persons after the Hawks in Mpumalanga rescued 39 victims on a farm in Belfast.

The suspects, both aged 32, were arrested on 24 June 2022. The Hawks said more arrests were imminent. Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Colonel Katlego Mogale, advised: “The 39 victims including 7 women, 9 children under the age of five and 23 males all over the age of 18, were rescued from a farm in Belfast.”  The victims were rescued from the trafficking ring by the members of Nelspruit Serious Organised Crime, the Flying Squad, the Department of Employment & Labour and the Department of Home Affairs. Information from the Hawks indicated that the victims were trafficked from Mozambique and they were driven to Lydenburg, where the son of the farm owner and another trafficker allegedly met with the taxi driver and paid for the transportation of the victims. The victims were then taken to the farm in Belfast for labour. The rescued victims will be kept at a place of safety in Witbank.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgomotso Phooko at The Citizen

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