Johannesburg - An Ethiopian refugee has been arrested by Home Affairs immigration officers acting in collaboration with the SAPS rapid response team after he was found to have trafficked more than 100 undocumented immigrants at a house in Primrose, Germiston.
In what appears to be a human trafficking syndicate operating in Ekurhuleni, on Friday, the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, confirmed that the department had intercepted a home in Primrose where more than 100 undocumented immigrants were found.
These immigrants were subsequently arrested. It is reported that many of these were Ethiopians, while four were Malawians.
The minister said only four of these had any form of documentation on them, with the owner of the property also detained at the Primrose police station along with these nationals. The arrest was part of the department's crackdown on illegal foreigners conducted with other spheres of government, including the SAPS.
The minister said the homeowner was evasive with the truth and only told him that he was managing the house, which accommodated mostly Ethiopians who were being employed to work at spaza shops, while Malawians were employed to cook for the trafficked people, with some as young as 19 years old.
"From what I understand, these people are brought here to be distributed to work at spaza shops across the country."
The minister said the house was big enough to host more than 100 people, and the victims of this syndicate were kept inside the house, which was properly secured but had little furniture except for duty pots and blankets all over the floor.
"This operation was part of a multiple stakeholder operation led by the SAPS rapid response team, home affairs immigration officers, and paramedics who had to be rushed in because some of them were not in good health," the mister said.
He said the man in charge of the operation is a refugee and has refugee status.
"His documents have been renewed four times already, and his status only expires in 2026. So he is basically misusing it, and we are going to have to deal with him," he said.
Motsoaledi said some of the trafficked people were victims and should be given a chance to state their case, as some of them were minors.
"These others have to be checked, especially the 19-year-old, as they are clearly victims. They might have been trafficked. So we have to follow the laws. We will have to call social workers and the department. This is still going to be a lot of work," he said.
The minister said he recently prepared a white paper to improve the country's immigration policies, which have made it easy for immigrants to abuse the country's laws to favour their nefarious acts.
"We need to repeal some of these immigration laws and start from scratch. We have to start with a white paper as the foundation and basis for doing that work. There is no question about it, and we will do it. Hence, I am saying this kingpin was a refugee and was given refugee status, but look what he is doing," he added.
The Star