Human smuggling ring busted
2003-10-01 19:43
Ladybrand - Nine people believed to be members of a syndicate transporting illegal immigrants into South Africa were arrested in three provinces on Wednesday, Free State police reported.
Inspector Loraine Kalp said the eastern Free State crime intelligence unit and home affairs officials swooped on a Ladybrand businessman's home in the early hours and arrested him.
Six other people, aged between 30 and 54, were arrested in Fouriesburg also in the Free State. Further investigations led to the apprehension of two other men in Gauteng and Cape Town.
Kalp said several premises were searched and a number of illegal identity documents, passports, work permits and photocopies of passports were seized during the arrests.
The syndicate is allegedly involved in moving illegal immigrants from China, Tanzania and Britain to South Africa.
"These arrests are an enormous success in the fight against illegal movement of people across our borders," Free State police commissioner Moranodi Gaobepe said.
The men arrested in the Free State will appear in the Ladybrand magistrate's court on Thursday.
- SAPA