NPA AFU SEIZES ASSETS AND CASH DERIVED FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACTIVITIES

The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has continued its efforts to ensure that crime does not pay and that the proceeds of crime are forfeited to the State. Last week, two women who were successfully prosecuted and sentenced for trafficking women from Nigeria to a brothel in George, Western Cape, forfeited a vehicle and R29 000 in cash to the State.

This follows a successful application by the AFU in the Western Cape Division of the High Court, Cape Town, for the forfeiture of the vehicle and cash. A preservation order in respect of the assets was granted on 17 March 2026, after which the AFU successfully obtained a forfeiture order. The court accepted the AFU's argument that the cash and vehicle constituted the proceeds of crime and were instrumentalities used in the commission of offences under the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013 (TIP Act) and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA).

The case originated from information received by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit in George on 13 December 2023. The information indicated that three Nigerian women had been trafficked to the George area several months earlier. The victims were allegedly using fraudulent Mozambican passports that made them appear older and were being advertised on an escort website. They were housed in a residential complex in George under the supervision of a woman in her thirties.

The following day, police established surveillance outside the complex and interviewed the maintenance manager and several residents. Residents reported seeing several young women staying at the flat and a steady flow of men visiting the premises for short periods. They suspected that the women were engaged in prostitution. Police also observed a known drug dealer visiting the flat, leading them to suspect that drugs could be stored on the premises.

On 16 December 2023, police obtained and executed a search warrant. Despite identifying themselves, occupants of the flat refused to open the door, forcing police to gain entry. One of the women informed police that the person leasing the property was not present and contacted her telephonically. Ms Mathunjwa subsequently arrived and identified herself as the lessee of the property.

During the search, police discovered a black hardcover notebook containing numerous names and corresponding monetary amounts, which appeared to be a record of payments. Mathunjwa claimed that the notebook contained records relating to the sale of slimming tea. However, police concluded that the slimming tea business was merely a front after noting that the products were concealed, none of the occupants mentioned such a business, and the recorded transactions appeared inconsistent with legitimate sales.

Police also found condoms, lubricant gel, and essential oils, which were more consistent with the operation of a brothel than a slimming tea business.

In one of the bedrooms, police found two 21-year-old Nigerian women who stated that their passports were being kept by a woman in Cape Town. Another woman in the lounge informed police that she was a sex worker from Zimbabwe who paid Mathunjwa R300 per day to use the premises to meet clients. A South African woman told police that she worked as a masseuse and also paid Mathunjwa R300 per day to see clients at the flat.

Police arrested Mathunjwa and seized several cellphones, SIM cards, travel documents, slimming tea products, the notebook, and her vehicle.

The second accused, Blessing Abudu, trafficked the two Nigerian women from Lagos through Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique before taking them to Durban, where they boarded a flight to Cape Town. They had initially been promised employment at Abudu's business in Cape Town. Upon arrival, however, they were separated.

One of the women was informed that there was no employment available and that she would instead work as a prostitute. When she refused, she was intimidated and told that she would only be released once she had repaid the alleged US$26 000 cost of bringing her to South Africa. She was subsequently moved between Johannesburg, Durban, Gqeberha, Komga and George for purposes of sexual exploitation. While in George, Mathunjwa acted as her handler and, on one occasion, paid her R1 400 for rent.

The victim later accompanied police to a flat in Strand, where Abudu was arrested. She informed police that she had paid Abudu R5 000 in rent to see clients. During the search, police found four envelopes containing cash totalling R29 000, which was subsequently seized.

The forfeited cash and the proceeds from the sale of the vehicle will be paid into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA), which supports initiatives aimed at combating crime, including trafficking in persons.

The accused were subsequently charged, convicted, and sentenced in the Plettenberg Bay Priority Regional Court. Following their sentencing, they were deported to Nigeria.

The NPA welcomes the successful forfeiture of these assets, which sends a strong message that those who profit from trafficking in persons will not only face criminal prosecution but will also be deprived of the proceeds and instrumentalities of their crimes.

The AFU remains committed to ensuring that crime does not pay. Through the effective implementation of POCA, the unit will continue to target and recover the proceeds of unlawful activities, thereby strengthening the fight against organised crime and protecting vulnerable members of society.

Issued by:

Eric Ntabazalila

Regional Communications Manager – Western Cape

National Prosecuting Authority