Three people have been sentenced in the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court for their involvement in human trafficking and operating a brothel in George.
Patience Precious Abudu (35), Success Egabor (42) and Nontobeko Mathunjwa (36) were arrested following a joint operation by the Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team and the Department of Home Affairs, which took place between December 2023 and May 2024.
This follows the rescue of two young girls on 16 December last year, who were found at a brothel in a George complex. It was later discovered that the victims had been trafficked into South Africa.
Abudu, Egabor and Mathinjwa pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including running a brothel and living off the proceeds of prostitution. They had been in custody since their arrest.
The sentences handed down by the court on Tuesday included fines and the option of prison terms.
Abudu was sentenced to fines totalling R13 000, with alternative jail time of up to three years, and ordered to pay R20 000 compensation to each victim.
Egabor received similar fines, totalling R13 000, along with a compensation order of R17 000 to one of the victims.
Mathunjwa was sentenced to fines amounting to R7 000 or up to three years behind bars, as well as R18 000 in compensation to one of the girls.
The court also ruled that Abudu and Egabor, who are Nigerian nationals and who were in South Africa illegally, be deported once their sentences are served.
READ MORE: Third suspect sought and arrested for human trafficking
