Hawks boss’s hurrah

WELCOME: SENTENCING OF HUMAN TRAFFICKER

Women in brothel were drugged.

The head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Mthandazo Ntlemeza, yesterday welcomed the conviction and sentencing of a Nigerian national who received 20 years direct imprisonment after being found guilty on five counts related to human trafficking.

Ugochukwu Eke was sentenced at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday for the crimes he committed in Rosettenville, where he lived in 2015.

He was arrested in August on allegations that he was running a brothel and kept young girls against their will for sexual exploitation. He forced them to take drugs and one victim, a girl, 15, managed to escape and reported the matter.

Eke was found guilty on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, living from the earnings of sexual exploitation, trafficking in persons, and an accomplice to rape.

Ntlemeza applauded the officers who had worked around the clock on the investigation.

“We have prioritised human trafficking as a national priority and we are not going to leave any stone unturned to find those who continue to exploit innocent people in this country,” said Ntlemeza.

“We also want to call upon those who have any information about this disturbing trend to report to us directly or their nearest police stations.” – ANA