TWO FOREIGN NATIONALS PLEADED GUILTY AND SENTENCED FOR CONTRAVENING TRAFFICKING IN PERSON ACT, ACT 7 OF 2013
MPUMALANGA – The Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Nico Gerber, welcomed the sentence of the two foreign nationals who pleaded guilty and were sentenced by the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday, 10 October 2023. The General applauded the investigating officers for the speedy finalisation of the case.
The sentence followed after an intelligence-driven operation was executed by the Mpumalanga multidisciplinary team on Monday, 27 February 2023 at KaMagugu, following information regarding illegal immigrants who were kept in a safe house, migrating from foreign countries into South Africa without proper documentation.
The team which comprised of the Nelspruit-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Crime Intelligence Nelspruit, Nelspruit Detectives, Nelspruit Visible Policing team as well as Local Criminal Record Centre, followed up the information which led them to the house at KaMagugu. They found 19 males packed into a three-bedroom house without furniture.
Preliminary investigation established that 14 were Bangladeshi and 4 were Pakistani nationals. A Pakistani foreign national, Ihsanulla, 43, was arrested for being in charge of the safe house. Police recovered 18 passports, 27 cellphones, chargers, and cables which were packaged together and kept by Ihsanulla. The suspects could not communicate in English and were in possession of passports that were not stamped for legal entry into South Africa.
The 18 foreign nationals aged between 20 and 45 were arrested and charged for contravention of the Immigration Act. Ihsanulla was charged with Trafficking in persons. The Department of Home Affairs declared all as undocumented foreign nationals. Investigation revealed that they were trafficked.
During further investigation, an additional Pakistan foreign national Mujahid Hussain (36) was arrested and added as a suspect. The house in which the victims were harboured was leased to Mujahid Hussein and his wife, and in the absence of his wife, he used the house together with accused 1 to harbour the trafficking-in-person victims.
The suspects were denied bail and kept in custody.
On Tuesday, 10 October 2023, at Nelspruit Regional Court, both accused pleaded guilty to harbouring the victims and were sentenced as follows:
Accused no.1 IHSANULLA was sentenced to R10 000.00 fine or 2 years imprisonment and a further 3 years imprisonment which is wholly suspended for 5 years on condition that the accused is not found guilty of trafficking in persons committed during the period of suspension.
Accused no.2 Mujahid Hussain was sentenced on count 1 R5000.00 fine or 1 year imprisonment and a further 3 years imprisonment which is wholly suspended for 5 years imprisonment on condition that the accused is not found guilty of trafficking in persons committed during the period of suspension. Mujahid Hussain was also linked with a Matsulu case, which occurred in September 2022. He was sentenced to R5000.00 fine or 1-year imprisonment.
The provincial head, Major General Gerber concluded by urging the public to report such matters to the police.
