Police in Sebayeng in Limpopo have arrested 25 unregistered foreign nationals for contravening immigration law.
The group of men, aged between 20 and 44, were arrested in Solomondale near Polokwane on Saturday.
South African Police Service spokesman in Limpopo, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, said officers, working in collaboration with private security companies, launched the operation after receiving information about a white Toyota Quantum that was traveling along the R81 in Solomondale.
Police said the Toyota Quantum was coming from the port of entry at Beitbridge, which links South Africa with neighboring Zimbabwe.
A law enforcement team spotted a Toyota Quantum at a gas station along the R81 in Sibaeng, and upon inspection discovered 23 Ethiopian men, aged between 20 and 38, in the 15-seater minibus.
The driver of the Toyota Quantum was a 44-year-old South African man.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that all passengers of the said ship were illegally smuggled into South Africa from Ethiopia via Zimbabwe,” Ledwaba said.
“It is reported that during the search of the Toyota Quantum and the passengers, (the police) saw a white car, a Toyota Fortuner, stopped at the scene of the accident, driven by a foreign national.”
The driver of a Toyota Fortuner allegedly offered police R5 000 to “allow the Toyota Quantum with passengers to be released” and was later arrested.
The driver of a Toyota Fortuner has been charged with bribery.
“The driver of a Toyota Quantum was reportedly found in possession of a licensed firearm, which was confiscated for investigation purposes,” Ledwaba said.
The arrested drivers face charges of human trafficking, bribery, and violating immigration law. Islam Online
