Three Batswana women rescued from human Ttafficking at OR Tambo

Three young women from Botswana, aged between 20 and 23, were rescued this week at O R Tambo International Airport after falling victim to a human‑trafficking scam promising employment in West Africa.

According to South African Police Service spokesperson Lieutenant‑Colonel Amanda van Wyk, the women were travelling from Botswana to Sierra Leone via South Africa and Nairobi when investigators from INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau Pretoria and the Germiston Serious Organised Crime Unit intervened.

The Botswana High Commission in Pretoria first alerted authorities to the situation, prompting the coordinated operation. Details of how the women were recruited and by whom remain under investigation, as do the methods used to move them across borders.

The case highlights the growing threat of transnational trafficking networks that use South Africa’s major ports of entry as transit points. O R Tambo Airport has been identified in previous reports as a key corridor for traffickers, underscoring the importance of vigilance and proactive law enforcement.

Authorities are urging anyone with information about the syndicate or similar recruitment schemes targeting vulnerable young people to come forward. The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests are expected as police work to dismantle the network.