KZN sex accused off to Mauritius
2012-04-10 13:07
Durban - A doctor and his wife accused of human trafficking and running a brothel were given permission on Tuesday to go to Mauritius.
The Durban Magistrate's Court ruled that Dr Genchen Ragnath and his wife Ravina, who are out on bail of R30 000 each, would be allowed to travel to the island.
They were ordered to provide the investigating officer with their full itinerary and details of where they would be staying.
They were given permission to travel between April 10 and May 7 and would have to hand in their passports to the authorities before May 10.
The couple were arrested at an upmarket resort in Umhlanga, about 15km north of Durban, earlier this month.
They had been given an ultimatum to hand themselves over to the police upon their return from a previous trip to Mauritius. When they failed to do so, police arrested them.
24 girls rescued
Police spokesperson Vincent Mdunge said at the time that the doctor was packing his suitcase when the police arrested him.
Nonduzo Dlamini, 23, Bhabha Dubazini, 29, and Sandile Zweni had already appeared in court in connection with the case, which saw police rescue about 24 girls from a building in Durban's Point area.
The area has a reputation of being plagued by prostitution and drugs.
When police made the initial arrests in February, they reportedly found 16 girls, some as young as 12, under the influence of drugs.
On February 19, KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi urged parents to claim the girls.
Mdunge said there were in fact 24 girls trapped in the ring. Nine of them had been returned to their parents. The others were being kept at a place of safety.
On Tuesday, a small group of women staged a quiet protest outside the court, holding placards.
One read, "doctors don't destroy us, help us" while others said "we are not the market" and "no bail for traffickers".
- SAPA
