Three Botswana women were rescued at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday after falling victim to an alleged human trafficking scam.
According to the police, the women, aged between 20 and 23, were reportedly lured via social media by a syndicate under the false pretence of being offered job opportunities in Sierra Leone.
Police spokesperson Lt-Col Amanda van Wyk, said the women were en route from Botswana to Sierra Leone via South Africa and Nairobi when they were intercepted and rescued by members of Interpol NCB Pretoria and the Germiston serious organised crime investigation unit after landing at OR Tambo International Airport.
Van Wyk said a police preliminary report suggests the Botswana High Commission in Pretoria had alerted Interpol to assist in tracing the missing victims.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the government said it had received distress calls from 17 South African men, aged between 20 and 39, who were trapped in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine.
The group has appealed for urgent assistance to return home.
According to the presidency, the group, 16 of whom are from KwaZulu-Natal and one from the Eastern Cape, were lured to join mercenary forces involved in the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of the young men.
TimesLIVE