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- Mpumalanga police rescued 19 Bangladeshi nationals from an alleged human trafficker in Nelspruit.
- Police said the men were not allowed to use their cellphones.
- Police arrested a 52-year-old man, also a Bangladeshi national, in connection with human trafficking.
Mpumalanga police rescued 19 Bangladeshi nationals from an alleged human trafficker in Kamagugu, Nelspruit.
The alleged kidnapper, 52, kept the Bangladeshi men in a three-bedroom house and confiscated their cellphones.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said the accused is also a Bangladeshi national.
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He added that the Ehlanzeni District Intelligence Task Team searched the property on Monday.
It is still unclear who the masterminds behind the "wannabe human trafficking syndicate" were, Mohlala said.
"Our investigation continues to probe their destination and the kingpins. However, preliminary investigation suggests that some were en route to Middelburg and Johannesburg," he said.
The 52-year-old suspect will appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate's Court on human trafficking charges following his arrest on Monday. The victims will face charges of violating the Immigration Act.
READ | Witness in human trafficking trial testifies about her attempt to flee drug den 'brothel'
Previously, News24 reported that Gauteng police rescued 50 Ethiopian nationals from a house in Zakariyya Park near Lenasia. Undercover police responded to a tip-off on the kidnapping.
The men were promised that they would be reunited with their families who had already lived in the country. However, the kidnappers demanded payments before they could release them.
Between 12 and 50 men were kept in a house that did not have electricity. They did not speak any of the South African languages.
