Police have rescued one woman and are searching for several others who they believe are being kept as sex slaves by a KwaZulu-Natal gang.
The 23-year-old Nkandla woman was rescued in Pinetown on Wednesday morning in a police sting operation.
She was one of as many as 10 women being kept by the gang, who are demanding ransoms from the women's families for their release.
The women have been allegedly raped repeatedly by their captors, who are both South Africans and foreign nationals.
The gang is believed to have already shot and killed one woman who attempted to escape by reaching for one of the kidnapper's guns.
Several specialised police units are currently searching for the women.
The women are believed to be kept in a shipping container and guarded around the clock. They are either in northern KwaZulu-Natal or in the Durban area.
The woman has been unable to speak to media but her mother told the Witness that their reunion was "very emotional".
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