Cops rescue 57 child trafficking victims in North West

Johannesburg – Fifty-seven children who had been smuggled into Mahikeng in an unventilated delivery truck from Malawi were rescued by police officers on Tuesday.

The group of children was discovered during the weekend at a routine checkpoint in the North West town.

"During the search 57 undocumented children ... were found in the back of a delivery truck which is without windows," police said in a statement.

Police spokesperson Mashadi Sepele told AFP that the victims' exact ages were not yet known, but that the youngest was believed to be just 11 years old.

"We are 100% sure that all of them are children," said Sepele, adding 18 were girls and 39 were boys.

Three men, including the truck driver, were arrested, the statement said.

Police suspect the children were being trafficked for prostitution or for employment as cheap labour.