A Durban businessman and his alleged accomplice are expected to apply for bail in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday in connection with a human trafficking case involving four women.
The pair, who were arrested earlier this month, are accused of luring four women from Eldorado Park in Johannesburg to KwaZulu-Natal with promises of employment before allegedly forcing them into sex work.
The women were reportedly recruited in 2022 to sell SIM cards to customers at a private casino in Durban. However, after arriving in the city, they were allegedly taken to a house in Durban North, where their movements were monitored and they were prevented from leaving.
They were allegedly later forced into sex work.
The women were rescued after one of them managed to send a message to her boyfriend, who alerted police. Their rescue came four years before the recent arrests.
The businessman, whose name has previously featured in testimony before the Madlanga Commission and who is reported to have links to a former police minister, faces about 20 charges. These include kidnapping and sexual assault.
His alleged accomplice faces charges of human trafficking, crimen injuria and contraventions of the Cybercrimes Act.
The Hawks have confirmed that investigations are continuing, with other possible suspects reportedly being monitored.
The two accused are expected to appear in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday, where they will make their bail applications.