A qualified beauty therapist has been reunited with her family in King William’s Town after being rescued from suspected human traffickers in Gauteng.
The 22-year-old woman was reunited with her family by the Hawks’ Eastern Cape Trafficking in Persons Task Team on Sunday.
“The young woman‚ who is a qualified beauty therapist‚ saw an advert on the internet which sought to employ a beauty therapist to work at a beauty parlour in the foreign country. She applied for the post and was immediately requested to travel to Gauteng from East London‚” said a statement from Hawks spokesperson Captain Anelisa Feni.
“On her arrival [in Gauteng]‚ she was advised that she will be travelling to Africa on Thursday. The mother of the victim raised the alarm after she got suspicious about the entire trip.”
It was established that there was no work permit and the woman was only allowed to visit the country for one month yet‚ according to her prospective employer‚ she was to have worked there for six months.
The Hawks contacted Interpol to verify if the beauty parlour where the woman was allegedly going to work was legitimate.
“Investigations revealed that the beauty parlour was in fact a restaurant. The task team members travelled to Johannesburg and managed to rescue the victim at the Johannesburg International airport as she was about to board a flight to the foreign African country‚” said the statement.
An investigation into the incident is under way.
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