The Hawks arrested four people at OR Tambo airport on Friday en route to Russia on suspicion of going to serve in the country’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said the arrests followed a tip-off from police stationed at the airport regarding four males who were en route to Russia via the United Arab Emirates.
“The individuals were intercepted and removed from the boarding gate after being flagged as suspicious, and subsequently referred to the Hawks’ crimes against the state (CATS) section.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that a South African female had allegedly been facilitating the travel and recruitment of these individuals into the Russian Federation military.”
She said a search and seizure warrant was executed for an additional suspect who allegedly recruited the men, as well as a fifth individual believed to be in Russia.
“Upon [one of] the suspect’s arrival at ORT on Thursday, the individual was interviewed, during which further evidence was uncovered. This resulted in the arrest of three additional suspects on Friday. Electronic gadgets and two backpacks were seized for further investigation,” said Mogale.
They were charged on suspicion of contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act and will appear in the Kempton Park magistrate’s court on Monday.
She said intelligence structures and international counterparts were working together to determine the full extent of the network and any further potential security threats.
The arrests come after a group of MK Party members stranded in the Ukraine claimed they were “trafficked” to fight in the conflict-torn Donbas region.
They claim they were lured by Jacob Zuma’s daughter and former MK Party MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, another woman Siphokazi Xuma-Zuma and a man, Blessing Khoza, into going to Russia for military training in July.
On July 11, they were made to sign infantry contracts drawn up in Russian, and 17 of them were then deployed to war-torn Donetsk. The others, returned to South Africa with Zuma-Sambudla.
Zuma’s other daughter, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, opened a criminal case against her sister last Sunday in connection with the 17 South African men sent to fight in Ukraine without their consent.
On Friday at a briefing in Durban, the MK Party announced Zuma-Sambudla had resigned as an MP. It clarified the party was not involved in any plot to send the men to fight abroad and were in consultation with the families of the 17 men to assist them in returning them to South Africa.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.