SA youth warned against Asian job offers tied to human trafficking

Mapaballo Borotho

The Justice Department has cautioned South Africans, especially the youth, against fake Asian job offers linked to human trafficking.
Deputy Minister Andries Nel urged vigilance when engaging with online recruiters and warned against sharing personal documents with strangers.
This follows reports of South Africans targeted in Myanmar and similar trafficking concerns linked to Russia’s Alabuga Start programme.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has once again warned the public against the dangers of human trafficking linked to fraudulent job offers overseas.

This comes after reports of South Africans who were identified as potential victims of human trafficking in Myanmar, Asia.

Deputy Minister Andries Nel said the department’s significant focus is to prevent human trafficking.

He urged all South Africans to exercise caution when engaging with job offers online, especially on social media platforms.

“Warning signs could include when an advertisement has no official contact details, when a recruiter refuses to meet someone in person and/or cannot give the registration details of the company or business,” he said.

“All suspicious adverts should be verified through official websites or labour departments.

We urge all South Africans to be extremely cautious when responding to job offers online. Human traffickers often use fake job adverts to lure unsuspecting individuals into exploitative situations. Always speak to family or friends before accepting any offer and never hand your identity document or passport to a stranger.”

Nel emphasised that trafficking in persons is a multifaceted crime that can take many forms, such as forced labour, sex trafficking, domestic servitude, online job scams, organ harvesting, and debt bondage.

This warning comes a few months after South African influencers came under fire for promoting a controversial Russian campaign (Alabuga Start programme) linked to human trafficking allegations.

BBC News reported that girls recruited through the programme were later forced to work in a weapons factory producing drones used in Russia’s war in Ukraine.