UPDATE: KZN police confirm escapees are illegal immigrants
KZN police have confirmed that the eight men who escaped from a van on the N3 in the vicinity of Mooi River - were illegal immigrants.
Police say the escapees were not prisoners, but illegal immigrants who were being transported by Home Affairs officials from Ladysmith towards Pietermaritzburg, when they broke free.
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Spokesperson Thembeka Mbhele says they've managed to re-arrest one man.
"This morning about eight people escaped a vehicle transporting illegal immigrants. It belongs to Home Affairs. They were deporting these people back to their homes as they were in South Africa illegally. While the vehicle made its way to the turn-off at Lions River - the driver noticed two people jumping off the vehicle," she said.