Durban - Police have confirmed that no case of human trafficking has been opened at Umbilo SAPS following reports of an incident in the Berea Road, Durban area this week.
A post on social media which read Human Trafficking syndicate busted at McDonalds Berea Road today. Well done to the community on apprehending the suspects. Shoutout to ...... from Umbilo SAPS for sending a vehicle out to the scene within minutes to arrest the suspect" has caused alarm with locals.
The picture accompanying the post appears to show a "suspected" trussed up and lying on the ground as members of the public look on. More than a hundred people have commented on the post, many lauding the police for apprehending the "traffickers" and others expressing anger and disgust that these types of crimes were allegedly taking place under their noses.
KZN Police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala said the police had no knowledge of such arrest.
"We have checked with Umbilo and all the neighbouring stations, no such arrest was made. We are appealing to community members to refrain from spreading fake news on social media. This causes the unnecessary panic to the community," said Gwala.
A captain at Umbilo SAPS not authorised to speak to the media confirmed that no such case had been opened.
"We have heard about this information that is being shared but it is not true."
At the time this article was published, the Facebook post had already been shared over 800 times and people were still adding fresh comments.