Hawks arrest two more suspects in Cape Town trafficking case as rescued woman's ordeal emerges
A 25-year-old and a 35-year-old appear in the Cape Town Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, bringing to three the number arrested after a 22-year-old woman was rescued in Woodstock.
Two more suspects, aged 25 and 35, were arrested on Tuesday, 29 September, in connection with a suspected human trafficking investigation in Cape Town, the Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team confirmed. Both are expected to make their first appearance in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 30 September, on charges of trafficking in persons.
As CapeTown ETC reported on 29 September, the arrests bring to three the number of people held in connection with the same investigation.
The first arrest came earlier in September. Jasmine Maureen Robert, 29, was arrested by the Bellville Hawks Economic Protected Resources team on 13 September after a 22-year-old woman was rescued in Woodstock. Robert appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on a charge of trafficking in persons and is expected back in court on 5 October for a Legal Aid application.
Hawks spokesperson WO Zinzi Hani said the woman had met Robert through TikTok after Robert was allegedly looking for a hairstylist. Investigators allege that arrangements were then made for the woman to travel to Cape Town. On arrival, she was allegedly taken to a hotel, where investigators found that her passport and cellphone had been taken. The woman allegedly escaped and went to Woodstock Police Station, where officers assisted her.
What happened in Woodstock is a case study in how trafficking cases surface in South Africa. The woman did not approach a specialised unit. She walked into a local police station, and the matter was escalated from there. The Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team, which led both stages of the investigation, is the directorate that handles serious organised and economic crime, including trafficking in persons.
Trafficking in persons is prosecuted under the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for aggravated offences. South Africa is a source, transit and destination country for trafficking, according to the National Prosecuting Authority, and cases frequently involve the recruitment of young women from one province to another under the promise of work. The TikTok recruitment alleged in this matter fits a pattern that prosecutors have described in other cases, where initial contact is made on social media and travel is arranged quickly.
The two suspects arrested on Tuesday have not yet pleaded, and no trial date has been set. Robert’s matter is at an earlier stage, and the Legal Aid application on 5 October will determine how she is represented. All three accused are presumed innocent until the courts decide otherwise.
For a reader in Cape Town, the case is a reminder that trafficking investigations in the city are not confined to the harbour or the airport. They can begin in a hotel room and end at an ordinary police station counter. The Woodstock officers who assisted the woman are part of the same SAPS structure that the Hawks rely on for initial reports, and the case moved from a local station to a national directorate within weeks.
The two suspects are due in court on Wednesday. Robert returns on 5 October. The Enquirer will report the outcome of those appearances as the record shows it.
Source: CapeTown ETC, Two more arrested in Cape Town human trafficking probe
