The Salvation Army has launched a funding appeal to help 220 youngsters who were trapped in an apparent scam that used the name of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) to lure them.

 This follows a report on Tuesday that Military Police and the Gauteng Provincial Government are investigating a case of suspected human trafficking of close to 300 young people‚ who were found stranded in Wonder Park‚ north of Pretoria.

“The Salvation Army is housing the victims at a safe place and providing for the immediate needs of the large group of young people who had earlier in the day been removed from the house by the Department of Social Development‚” the charity organisation said in a statement.

 “They had allegedly been stranded by a man who had promised them jobs in exchange for a fee.”

 Major Carin Holmes‚ PR secretary of the Salvation Army in southern Africa‚ said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the public so far in providing us with donated items. However‚ we are now in need of funds to assist with their care in the next few days and in their return to their homes.”

Holmes said that the apparent scam showed young people’s “increasing desperation” to find jobs.

 “Human trafficking is not just about sexual exploitation. It’s also about conning the vulnerable into parting with what little resources they have in the belief that they are going to find employment‚” she added.