A 17-year-old girl has been arrested in connection with a human trafficking gang operating in Springs, police said yesterday."The girl was recruiting young girls into this thing," said Captain Thivhulawi Tshilate.
"She is in custody at the Walter Sisulu Children's Home."
The human trafficking ring was bust following a tip-off to police on Friday.
"Police received information that there were some girls being kept in a house on Eighth Street in the Springs CBD.
"Police acted fast as they heard these girls were about to be moved," Tshilate said.
Two police officers who were patrolling the area rushed to the premises, where they found five girls. Two of them are 14 years old, one is 15, another is 17 and the oldest is 19.
Four of the girls said they were from Balfour, in Mpumalanga.
The 19-year-old said she was from KwaThema, in Springs.
The house's owner failed to answer the police's questions about what the girls were doing in his house.
"Police searched the premises and found a heap of pornographic material. They conducted a body search on him and found him with drugs," Tshilate said.
The man was arrested and charged with human trafficking, possession of drugs and possession of pornography.
Child Protection Services was called in and the girls were taken for medical examinations before being taken to a place of safety in Benoni.
"Police investigators are still trying to locate their parents and determine how the girls got there," said Tshilate.
The police have since established that the homeowner they arrested has other allegations pending against him.
"He has a pending case of rape and kidnapping of a 19-year-old girl from KwaThema. He was out on bail," said Tshilate.
The suspect, aged 42, is due to appear in the Springs Magistrate's Court today.
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