Recruitment agent arrested for 'holding eight women in room'

Eight Lesotho women who each paid R5,000 to a woman who advertises her service as an employment agent on the internet have been rescued from a property in Palm Ridge, Katlehong.

The women were found in a room and had allegedly been there for 10 days, police spokesperson W/O Thatohatsi Mavimbela said. 

The self-styled recruitment agent, aged 28, has been arrested on charges of human trafficking.

Community members alerted a police constable on Friday about a back room at a house rented by the suspect, where foreigners were allegedly held.

The officer found the women who said they were brought from Lesotho to Palm Ridge after paying to find jobs in Gauteng.

The suspect was traced and could not produce documents to prove she is a legal labour broker.

She was also in possession of 20 Lesotho passports and could not explain why they were in her possession.

“The eight victims were taken to a place of safety after undergoing medical assessment,” Mavimbela said.

TimesLIVE