German arrested at Joburg airport for 'smuggling women lured via dating site'

A German man was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for allegedly attempting to traffic two women via South Africa to Croatia, the Airports Company SA said at the weekend.

The 56-year-old appeared in the Kempton Park magistrate's court on Friday on charges of trafficking in people and fraud. He was remanded pending a bail application

He was arrested by a joint police team led by the West Rand Hawks' serious organised crime investigation unit, working with Interpol, Crime Intelligence and Gauteng's provincial border policing unit.

Acsa said he was intercepted while trying to board a flight to Croatia with two Madagascan women, aged 32 and 29.

The women were allegedly recruited through a dating site and lured with a promise of employment.

They were found in possession of fraudulent Italian passports.

“Acsa would like to congratulate the various law enforcement agencies involved in making the arrests. The apprehension was made possible because of the increased co-operation between law enforcement agencies and the security team at Acsa,” the company's group executive of enterprise security, Mzwandile Petros, said. “Acsa takes a zero-tolerance approach to any criminal activity at its airports. Human traffickers will be arrested and will face the full might of the law.”

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