The Limpopo Provincial Tracking Team intercepted a convoy of motor vehicles which were travelling from Zimbabwe heading to Polokwane with over 100 undocumented foreign nationals on Thursday night.
The motor vehicles were allegedly loaded with 133 undocumented children, women and men.
NO DOCUMENTATION
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said the police received information from a source about a convoy of eight eight Toyota Quantums, two Toyota Hilux GD6 Double Cab bakkies with canopies and one Toyota Fortuner.
"Members managed to locate eleven motor vehicles travelling along the N1 North bypass gateway outside Polokwane.The vehicles were tactically approached, stopped and searched and found to be overloaded with 73 underage children between six months and seventeen years as well as 60 adults,"said Mashaba.
He added that the passengers could not provide any legal documentations for being in the country and were arrested on the spot.
ANOTHER HUMAN TRAFFICKING INCIDENT?
Mashaba said most of the passengers could not establish where they were going and were suspected to be victims of human trafficking.
"The Police and other stakeholders comprising of the Department of Home Affairs and Social Development were summoned to process the undocumented foreign nationals and suspected victims of human trafficking.
This is the fourth suspected human trafficking incident to be reported in less than 10 days.
Earlier this week at Beitbridge border post, 443 undocumented children were sent back to Zimbabwe in the 42 buses they were travelling in.
In Benoni 33 men were rescued by KZN police who were tracing a suspected kidnapper and in Kimberley 14 undocumented children were reported by a concerned passenger who travelled with them from Midrand enroute to Cape Town.Two Zimbabweans nationals were arrested in connection to the incident
Police urged residents to be the first line of defence when they see strange behaviour towards an enslaved domestic worker, a child in distress or a pimp or madam who organises multiple sex partners for their victim. They must shout for help when they witness exploitation.
