By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Dozens of foreign nationals have escaped from a house in Lombardy East, Johannesburg, while some are said to be scattered around the N3 highway near River Park.
The suspected victims are believed to be of Somalian and Ethiopian descent, among others.
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale says the incident may be linked to human trafficking.
“We are still gathering information. Officials are on the scene and will give an update,” she added.
A foul stench greets you as you enter the house, as buckets of urine, dirty blankets and loaves of bread are the only items in sight.
Provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said, that 32 of the 50 Ethiopian nationals who escaped after they were held hostage are in police custody.
Masondo, confirmed that the ages of those in custody range from 13 and 24 years.
They are facing charges of illegal immigration, pending further investigations.
Masondo told the media that the police received a call about 9am, from the community patrollers reporting that they had seen strange people running in the streets and some were naked.
“We then dispatched our crime prevention police officers to go and find out what was happening. When we got to that vicinity, we found out that some of them entered inside a shop. Inside the shop, we found eight people, half of whom were half-naked and were all males,” he said.
In January, police rescued 15 Ethiopian nationals who had been held against their will in a house in Lombardy East, Johannesburg.
The house was suspected of being involved in human trafficking of Ethiopian nationals.
Eleven victims were hospitalised, while dozens — many of whom were naked — escaped the scene.