19 Bangladeshis rescued from suspected traffickers in South Africa
The rescued men face charges of violating immigration law
South African police rescued nineteen Bangladeshi nationals on Monday from a suspected hideout of human traffickers in Mpumalanga province.
Although the rescue comes as a relief, the Bangladeshis could be in legal trouble as they may have entered the country illegally, local media outlets reported.
Kamrul Alam Khan, secretary at the Bangladesh High Commission in South Africa, told The Business Standard that the case of human trafficking could not be confirmed as the country's law enforcers were yet to contact the high commission over the incident.
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The High Commission learnt the news only from local media, Kamrul said.
South Africa is a major destination for unofficial Bangladeshi travellers, but is also a hotbed of trafficking.
"Most Bangladeshis go to South Africa through unofficial processes," Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, told TBS.
According to unofficial estimates, more than one lakh Bangladeshis are living in South Africa, most of whom are self-employed.
About Monday's rescue operation, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, a South Africa police spokesperson, told local media that the officers had received information about the hostages being kept at a house in Kamagugu town outside Nelspruit city, the capital of Mpumalanga province.
"The police found nineteen Bangladeshi men in a three-bedroom house. They further found that all of their cellphones were placed in a single plastic bag, suggesting that they were deprived of the means to communicate with their relatives and friends.
"A 52-year-old Bangladeshi national, who served as the housekeeper, was arrested on human trafficking allegations and is due to appear in Nelspruit magistrate's court soon," Mohlala said.
Those rescued could also face charges of breaching South Africa's immigration act for allegedly reaching the country through illegal means, Mohlala added.
"As part of our investigation, we are trying to pinpoint the destination of the victims and the criminal masterminds. Preliminary findings suggest that some of the victims were headed for Middleburg town in Mpumalanga province while others were destined for Johannesburg city in the nearby Gauteng province."
