Overview
- Police intercepted the travelers shortly after they landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday, 7 November 2025.
- The women, aged 20 to 23 and all from Botswana, were reportedly recruited on social media with false promises of well‑paid jobs in Sierra Leone.
- INTERPOL NCB Pretoria and the Germiston Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit carried out the rescue after an alert from the Botswana High Commission in Pretoria.
- Authorities say the women were routed from Botswana to Sierra Leone via South Africa and Nairobi before they were located.
- An investigation is underway to identify and arrest those behind the scheme, with police urging the public to report suspicious activity at airports, highways and border posts.