Man appears in court after 2 human trafficking victims freed in CT
Chibuike Innocent Nwosu was arrested on Thursday in Milnerton.
CAPE TOWN - A 39-year-old man has appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates Court on charges of human trafficking.
Chibuike Innocent Nwosu was arrested on Thursday in Milnerton by a team consisting members of the Hawks' anti-human trafficking K9 unit and local police.
The raid resulted in two female victims, both aged 22, being freed and taken to a place of safety.
The police say the victims had been allegedly forced to work as sex workers.
Western Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha says: “The victims were allegedly forced to work as sex workers after they were lured from the Mpumalanga and Free State provinces last year. They were promised offers of employment. The matter has been postponed to Monday, January 15, for a bail application.”
Human trafficking has been defined as illegal trade of people for the purposes of forced labour and sexual exploitation.
According to the United Nations 2016 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, the profile of detected trafficking victims has changed over the last decade.
A decade ago, trafficking was thought to mainly involve women trafficked from afar into an affluent country for sexual exploitation.
Although most detected victims are still women, children and men now make up larger shares of the total number of victims than they did 10 years ago. In 2014, children comprised 28% of detected victims, and men 21%.
The report suggests that traffickers and their victims often come from the same place, speak the same language or have the same ethnic background. Such commonalities help traffickers generate trust to carry out the trafficking crime.
“Being of the same gender can also enhance trust. Data from court cases indicate that women are commonly involved in the trafficking of women and girls, in particular. Most of the detected victims of trafficking in persons are females; either women or underage girls,” it reads.
Locally, people have been urged to report human trafficking via the hotline at 0800 222 777.
(Edited by Shimoney Regter)
