A 32-year-old Mozambican national was sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option to pay a R6000 fine.
According to a provincial Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, Moises Armando Mate appeared in the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday, December 27, after he was arrested at Komatipoort shortly after he smuggled 14 Mozambican minors, all females aged between 04 and 16 years, into South Africa on Friday, December 06.
“Mate was arrested after he was found driving the minibus that was fully loaded with 14 girls and was stopped by members of the Border Management Authority on the N4 next to one of the filling stations. He and the victims were handed over to Komatipoort SAPS, and the case of aiding and abetting was registered. The victims were handed over to the Department of Social Development for assessment before they were sent back to their country of origin,” said Nkosi
Nkosi added that the case was handed over to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation for further investigations.
Mate made a few court appearances before he pleaded guilty on Friday, December 27. The court handed down the sentence after Mate pleaded guilty as charged. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option to pay a R6000 fine, which was wholly suspended for a period of three years on condition that during the three years, he does not commit a similar offence; he must not be found unlawfully assisting any person(s) to enter, remain, or depart South Africa.
