Alleged illegal immigrants from Ethiopia taken in for processing in Sandton

Forty-four alleged illegal immigrants from Ethiopia were found after a complaint of people screaming in a house in Parkmore, Sandton, on Thursday.

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said the immigrants are being processed at the department of home affairs and preliminary investigations revealed that they are males aged between 15 and 22.

“It is reported that private security officers who were conducting routine patrols in the area received a complaint about people who were screaming and making a noise at one of the houses in Parkmore,” said Masondo.

“The complaint was then escalated to the local police station and police proceeded to the scene. At the scene, police discovered 44 males who were locked in the back rooms of the main house.

He added that it is alleged they were being kept against their will and there is a possibility that they were trafficked into the country.

“An investigation is under way to establish how they came to the country and ended up being locked inside the house,” said Masondo.