The
suspects
were
found
on
a
long-distance
bus
with
undocumented
minors
in
their
company
–
eight
boys
and
six
girls
aged
six
to
14
years.
The
Zimbabwean
nationals,
comprising
a
man
and
a
woman,
were
arrested
by
a
multi-disciplinary
team
comprising
of
Hawks
Serious
Organised
Crime
Investigation,
Kimberley
Family
Violence,
Child
Protection
and
Sexual
Offences
(FCS)
Unit
and
Kimberley
Crime
Prevention,
according
to
Hawks
spokesperson,
Lt
Col.
Tebogo
Thebe.
News24 reported
Thebe
as
saying
the
suspects
in
the
latest
case,
a
male
(46)
and
female
(41)
were
seen
boarding
a
bus
in
Midrand
with
the
children.
Said
Thebe:
Police
were
alerted
to
the
incident
by
a
vigilant
passenger
on
the
bus
en
route
to
Cape
Town.The
bus
made
a
stopover
in
Kimberley
and
the
passenger
called
an
off-duty
police
officer
who
in
turn
alerted
the
multi-disciplinary
team
for
investigation
and
arrest.The
suspects
claimed
to
be
taking
the
kids
to
their
parents
in
Cape
Town,
information
the
police
could
not
verify
leading
to
the
arrests.The
victims
(children)
were
inspected
and
looked
dirty
without
any
additional
clothes
or
bags
and
looked
hungry.The
Provincial
Trafficking
in
Persons
Rapid
Response
Team,
led
by
the
Department
of
Social
Development,
was
contacted
to
assist
with
placing
the
kids
in
a
place
of
safety
and
providing
them
with
food.
According
to
unverified
claims
made
on
social
media,
the
concerned
passenger
on
the
bus
noticed
that
the
children
were
not
excited
or
noisy
like
children
would
act
when
going
on
holiday.
The
children
were
reportedly
very
quiet,
and
the
passenger
noticed
that
during
bus
breaks,
the
children
did
not
get
off
the
bus.
This
prompted
the
passenger
to
contact
the
police,
who
intercepted
the
bus
in
Kimberley.