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An unfortunate woman and her cousin fell for a human trafficking scam disguised as a job opportunity in Thailand only to be pushed into sex work.

The one human trafficking victim in Thailand was rescued, however, confirmed the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco).

The woman and her cousin were bought tickets to Thailand by the prospective employers and then driven 12 hours out of Thailand when they arrived, according to Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela via The Citizen.

“Passports were confiscated and they were told they would work as prostitutes for a minimum of three years,” said Monyela.

The woman made a daring escape from the clutches of the trafficking ring by fabricating a lie about a sexually transmitted infection (STI), which would obviously make her an unattractive sale.

The employers promptly took her back to the airport with a return flight ticket, which turned out to be bogus, forcing the woman to sleep at the airport for two days before receiving help.

The woman might be safe now, but her cousin is still missing somewhere in the East Asian country.

“I just spoke to the lady. She is safe. We’re getting her a plane ticket to fly back home. She escaped prostitution by lying that she’s got an STI.”

“Everything she and her ‘cousin’ were promised were lies. The case of her cousin has been reported to the police. Our embassy will monitor progress thereof,” said Monyela.

Monyela issued a stark warning that human trafficking is a genuine and pervasive threat, urging that SA families be vigilant and cautious, particularly against unsolicited job and study offers abroad, as these can often be scams or traps set by traffickers.

“If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. Find and inform SA embassies of your presence in any foreign country. That’s your home away from home.”

The sad reality is that human trafficking syndicates also operate within South Africa, recruiting victims from neighbouring countries and South Africa’s socioeconomically disadvantaged communities or rural areas to exploit them in sex trafficking in urban areas such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein.

[source:citizen]