The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation(HAWKS) arrested two suspects including former warrant officer worked for HAWKS in Bloemfontein before he retired in 2019.

Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti said a multi-disciplinary team led by the Bloemfontein based Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation,K-9 Unit,Crime Intelligence and Police Emergency Services have on 30 June 2025 arrested three suspects,aged 29 and 59,for charges of trafficking in persons,rape and attempted murder.One of the suspects is a former Warrant Officer who was attached to the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Bloemfontein until 2019 when he retired.

The police revealed that the suspects were running job advertisements on Facebook to lure young women and promised job them in a club in Bloemfontein.

"The 26-year-old victim alleges that,during July 2022,she saw an advertisement on Facebook for a job as a bar tender at a certain gentleman's club in Ferreira,Bloemfontein.She started talking to the club owner,who made arrangements for the victim to be transported from Ventersburg.A few days later, the club owner and a driver brought her to Bloemfontein.Upon arrival,she was taken to the house of one of the accused persons where she was drugged,sexually assaulted,and repeatedly raped by a group of males.The victim further alleges that one of the suspects was taking pictures during the ordeal.She managed to escape through the bathroom window and sought assistance.The case was reported at a nearby police station and later transferred to the Hawks,"added Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti.

The trio was expected to make their first appearance before Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court on Tuesday,01 July 2025.

W/O Matoti mentioned that a search for the fourth male suspect continues.

Free State Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation(Hawks),Major General Mokgadi Bokaba has applauded the investigations for pursuing justice,regardless of who was involved in the crime,Matoti concluded.