The group of men, aged between 20 and 44 years, were
arrested at Solomondale near Polokwane on Saturday.
Provincial spokesperson of the SA Police Service in
Limpopo, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said officers, working in conjunction with
private security companies went on an operation after receiving information
about a white Toyota Quantum which was driving along the R81 Road in
Solomondale.
Police said the Toyota Quantum was from the Beitbridge port
of entry linking South Africa with neighbouring Zimbabwe.
The law enforcement team spotted the Toyota Quantum at a
filling station along R81 Road in Sebayeng, and upon checking, discovered 23
Ethiopian men, aged between 20 and 38, in the 15-passenger seater minibus.
The driver of the Toyota Quantum was a 44-year-old South
African man.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that all the
passengers in the said Quantum were illegally smuggled into South Africa from
Ethiopia through Zimbabwe,” said Ledwaba.
“It is reported that while in the process of searching in
the Toyota Quantum and the passengers, they (police) saw a white motor vehicle,
a Toyota Fortuner which stopped at the scene being driven by a male foreign
national.”
The driver of the Toyota Fortuner allegedly offered the
police R5,000 “to let the Toyota Quantum with the passengers go free” and was
subsequently arrested.
The driver of the Toyota Fortuner was charged for bribery.
“It is reported that the driver of the Toyota Quantum was
found in possession of a licensed firearm, and it was confiscated for
investigation purposes,” said Ledwaba.
The arrested drivers are facing charges of human
trafficking, bribery, and contravention of Immigration Act. IOL
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