Durban businessman and Selvan Rungasamy Naidoo due back in court over alleged human trafficking

What the prosecution says happened

The case relates to an alleged 2022 incident involving three young women from Eldorado Park in Johannesburg. The state alleges the women were lured to Durban with a purported job offer to sell SIM cards and were then forced into sexual exploitation at a property in Durban North.

The KwaZulu-Natal Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) investigating officer, Karl Sanders, told the court that further arrests were expected and that the matter will be ready for trial. Sanders has argued in court that the accused should not be granted bail because they pose a risk of interfering with witnesses and destroying evidence.

Charges, bail and procedural history

Naidoo is charged with: human trafficking, kidnapping, cybercrime, crimen injuria and procurement for prostitution. The businessman faces 20 counts, among them sexual assault. Because the businessman has not yet pleaded, his name has not been released for publication in the proceedings.

Bail details recorded in court: Magistrate Sharon Marks released the businessman on R50,000 and Naidoo on R100,000. Both remain out on bail as the matter progresses to the next hearing.

The businessman was arrested on 11 August, and Naidoo handed himself over at the Durban North Police Station on the following day. Sanders told the court that the businessman’s phone was wiped clean at the Durban North Police Station after he was questioned in 2022. Sanders also said Naidoo made an oral confession while being fingerprinted, but that this was not put into an affidavit because Naidoo declined to make one.

WhatsApp messages and the alleged recruitment method

The court heard that the alleged job offer was communicated via WhatsApp under the name of a company called ICLICK. The charge sheet notes that three of the 20 counts relate specifically to those messages.

“Communicating false employment information for ‘ICLICK’ to the complainants via electronic communications, including WhatsApp.

“Representing the legitimacy of the employment opportunity for ICLICK.”

The state told the court that these messages succeeded in inducing the complainants to travel to Durban and that, on arrival, they were allegedly informed the work was “in fact of a sexual nature.”

Other arrests and charges in the investigation

Sanders said three others were arrested and appeared in court in mid-October 2026 in connection with the matter. Among those named in court papers is Pauline Sewsunker, a 43-year-old woman from Phoenix, who was granted R10,000 bail in the Durban Regional Court on Thursday, 15 October. She is accused of participating in the scheme that allegedly lured young women to Durban with promises of legitimate work.

Two other people reported as having been arrested are Kinnon Charlston Du Plessis, 38, and Judith Ruth Meyers, 22, both said to be from Eldorado Park in Johannesburg. Sewsunker and her co-accused face multiple charges, including contraventions of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act; the Sexual Offences Act (procurement of a female to have unlawful carnal intercourse); the Film and Publication Act (distribution of unclassified sexually explicit material and operating without registration); the Cybercrime Act (attempted, conspiracy, aiding and abetting); cyber fraud; and crimen injuria.

Court arguments on bail

In the most recent hearing, Sanders argued that the accused should not be granted bail because of the risk they pose to witnesses and evidence. He also told the court that members of Naidoo’s family had been intimidated.

Defence counsel for the businessman, Paul Jorgensen, instructed by Attorney Mohammed Jabeer Moideen, pressed Sanders to show proof that the men would endanger witnesses or destroy evidence. Jorgensen noted that the incident took place in 2022 and said that if his client had wished to interfere with evidence or witnesses, there had been time to do so. Naidoo’s counsel, Niven Rai, instructed by Ray Maharaj, advanced similar arguments on behalf of his client.

Why this case matters locally

This prosecution brings together a range of offencesallegations of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, cybercrime and the misuse of electronic communicationsthat highlight the complex nature of some modern human-trafficking investigations. The involvement of alleged online recruitment and the cross-provincial movement of complainants are matters that typically increase investigative complexity and the range of charges that may arise.

Cases of this type are closely watched by communities and law enforcement because they raise questions about recruitment methods, victim vulnerability and the challenges of detecting and prosecuting exploitation that uses electronic communications. The DPCI/Hawks involvement signals the priority the state places on the matter.

What to expect next

The accused are expected to appear in the Durban Regional Court on Thursday for the next appearance in this matter. The investigating officer has told the court the case will be ready for trial and has indicated more arrests may follow as the probe continues.

The story will be updated once court proceedings have been concluded.