A 31-year old woman was charged with trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation and kidnapping on Monday after being arrested in connection with the disappearance of Saldanha Bay's Joshlin Smith, 6.
Lorentia Lombard appeared at the Vredenburg magistrate's court. Her case has been postponed until March 25 for bail information.
Western Cape police spokesperson Lt-Col Malcolm Pojie said on Sunday she had been arrested, without disclosing details.
“Be advised it is normal practice that during such intricate investigations people of interest will be taken in for questioning or will be interviewed with the aim to solve such a case,” he said.
“In the interest of solving this case and finding Joshlin we cannot disclose operational details and give a blow-by-blow account as the investigation into finding Joshlin unfolds, as this can potentially jeopardise investigations.”
Joshlin disappeared from the Middlebos informal settlement on February 19.
Her mother Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis, and a close friend, Steveno van Rhyn, are also standing trial. At their previous court appearance, the state said it was waiting on cellphone data analysis and the case was postponed to May 13 for further investigation.
Charges were dropped last week against another woman, Phumza Sigaqa, due to insufficient evidence.
TimesLIVE
Another woman in court over missing Joshlin Smith
Image: Executive mayor Andrè Truter/Facebook
A 31-year old woman was charged with trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation and kidnapping on Monday after being arrested in connection with the disappearance of Saldanha Bay's Joshlin Smith, 6.
Lorentia Lombard appeared at the Vredenburg magistrate's court. Her case has been postponed until March 25 for bail information.
Western Cape police spokesperson Lt-Col Malcolm Pojie said on Sunday she had been arrested, without disclosing details.
“Be advised it is normal practice that during such intricate investigations people of interest will be taken in for questioning or will be interviewed with the aim to solve such a case,” he said.
“In the interest of solving this case and finding Joshlin we cannot disclose operational details and give a blow-by-blow account as the investigation into finding Joshlin unfolds, as this can potentially jeopardise investigations.”
Joshlin disappeared from the Middlebos informal settlement on February 19.
Her mother Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis, and a close friend, Steveno van Rhyn, are also standing trial. At their previous court appearance, the state said it was waiting on cellphone data analysis and the case was postponed to May 13 for further investigation.
Charges were dropped last week against another woman, Phumza Sigaqa, due to insufficient evidence.
TimesLIVE
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