Cape Town - A George woman accused of trafficking women from West Africa into the Western Cape in shipping containers will spend Christmas behind bars after she was busted by the Hawks this week.
Nontobeko Mathunjwa, 34, made her first appearance in the George Magistrate’s Court on Monday following an investigation into her alleged plans to sell the women into prostitution using escort websites.
Hawks spokesperson Siyabulela Vukubi said the Hawks swooped on Mathunjwa on Saturday after a tip-off earlier in the week about women being held at a residential complex.
“The Hawks based in George arrested a 34-year-old female suspect for her alleged involvement in trafficking in persons. Her arrest follows after the Hawks received information on Wednesday, December 13, that three young girls had been trafficked from West Africa into South Africa a few months ago inside a shipping container. They were allegedly given fake passports. Information was that the girls were advertised on an escort website and were kept in a residential complex in George.”
He said the Serious Organised Crime Investigation team conducted a search at the property and found four women who they suspected had been trafficked into the country.
“The victims, who are between the ages of 21 and 47, were rescued and kept in a place of safety after they were taken for medical assessment. The suspect, who is allegedly the caretaker on the premises, was arrested.”
Mathunjwa faces charges of contravening the Prevention and Combating of the Trafficking in Persons Act, and the case was postponed to January 22 for a formal bail application.
Earlier this year a research report compiled by the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force on modern slavery and human trafficking showed that the Western Cape reports the highest number of cases of modern slavery and human trafficking.
It included statistics by the National Prosecuting Authority which showed that during 2021, there were 79 ongoing prosecutions, which consisted of 53 cases of sex trafficking, five cases of forced marriage, four labour cases and 17 cases listed as other forms of trafficking.
In the sex trafficking cases, the victims were 163 males, 226 females and 11 of unknown gender. Of these, 331 were adults and 64 were children.