JOHANNESBURG - More than 100 undocumented foreigners living in a house in Primrose were arrested on Friday.
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that some of the foreigners were "clearly victims", adding that a trafficking syndicate could be involved.
The group consisted of 98 Ethiopians and four Malawians, with some as young as 10 years old.
Some of them were rushed to hospital for treatment for malnutrition and dehydration.
"From what I can understand they are brought here to run the spaza shops around the whole country," Motsoaledi said.
Processing the illegal migrants will be a lengthy process, said the ministry.
It will work with social services to determine whether any of them were trafficked into the country.