South Africa jails Chinese nationals for human trafficking

A court in the capital of Johannesburg on Wednesday sentenced seven Chinese defendants to 20 years in prison each for smuggling people into South Africa and forcing them to work in a factory. Authorities arrested the four men and three women in November 2019 at their fabric factory in an industrial area in southern Johannesburg. A court in February convicted the group of trafficking 91 undocumented people from Malawi from 2017 to 2019. The Malawians were smuggled into the country in shipping containers and forced to work in dangerous conditions seven days per week at wages below the national minimum, according to the South African authorities. Some of the victims were minors.

What else were they charged with? A court found the Chinese nationals guilty on 160 counts including human trafficking, bondage, assisting illegal immigrants to remain in South Africa, and benefitting from victims of human trafficking. The court also convicted them of failing to keep records of earnings, failing to report incidents, and not registering with appropriate government entities. 

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report about the FBI busting a Chinese-United States money and drug laundering ring.