More than 40 Ethiopian nationals who were allegedly being kept against their will at a house in Buccleuch, Sandton, were willingly smuggled into the country for job opportunities, This is according to Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovha who said the men were kept inside the house against their will, and their family members who are in SA were being contacted to release them at a fee…
He said the men lived in dire conditions inside the house, Sowetan understands a large group of men had managed to break out from the house while others remained locked in rooms, A woman who lives in the area told Sowetan that one of the neighbours had sent a WhatsApp in the community group, saying they were hearing loud noises in one of the houses.
But later, a man who was wearing only underwear jumped over the neighbour’s wall around 6.30pm on Wednesday, seemingly looking terrified, Soon after that, a large group also fled the property, which is situated in a quiet area with high walls, Private security which arrived on scene managed to gain entry onto the property and found about 16 men locked in various rooms in the house.
An incident report from a security company, which Sowetan has seen, said the men had been deprived of food and clothing and had told officers that the number of those who had escaped was 72, However, officers managed to track down about 47 of them, Ramovaha told Sowetan that medical services were called to the scene because some of the men looked malnourished.
