Police in Modjadjiskloof, Mopani district in Polokwane arrested 26 people at the weekend including a 28-year-old man suspected of human trafficking.
Two other men aged 33 and 47 were also nabbed for money-laundering during the police operation.
Out of the 26 people, 23 are undocumented foreign nationals who have contravened the the Immigration Act.
The arrests were effected on Sunday at Mooketsi outside Tzaneen along the R81 Road.
According to police, there was an alert from two taxi associations about a white Toyota Quantum traveling along the R81 Road from north to the southern direction ferrying 25 occupants.
Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said police responded to a tip-off and discovered two South African men, the driver and a 28-year-old accomplice.
The group was in the company of 23 Somalians who were being ferried.
“A gold Volkswagen Golf suddenly stopped and the driver of the Toyota Quantum boarded the Golf and it sped off from the scene, thus evading arrest. Police discovered 64 cross-border permits in the Toyota Quantum,” said Mashaba.
Mashaba added that after the men were arrested, two other male suspects aged 33 and 47 drove to the Modjadjiskloof police station in a Toyota Hilux double-cab.
“They demanded that the 28-year-old male suspect be released, saying he was given a lift to Brits in North West in a Quantum.
“The police searched the bakkie and discovered bank notes amounting to R415 820 hidden underneath the seat,” Mashaba added.
Police sought intervention from the province’s department of home affairs and social development to process the cases of contravention of Immigration Act, which involves minor suspects.
Investigations for the cases of human trafficking, money-laundering and contravention of Immigration Act are underway.
Mashaba said the police have activated a manhunt for the suspect responsible for human trafficking who fled the scene in a Volkswagen Golf.
The suspects are expected to appear before the Bolobedu magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
