Four men are detained by South Africa on suspicion of plotting a Russian military campaign

Four guys who are suspected of having been recruited to fight in the Russian military were detained by South African authorities when they were traveling there.

The guys were detained at the Johannesburg boarding gate on Friday, according to police. This comes weeks after it was reported that 17 more South African men were stranded in Ukraine after being persuaded to enlist in mercenary forces by the promise of lucrative contracts.

Under South African law, citizens are not allowed to join foreign armies or offer military support to foreign governments without permission.

The elite Hawks police unit said in a statement on Saturday that the arrests came after a tip from the Johannesburg Airport Police about four men who were traveling to Russia through the United Arab Emirates.

“A preliminary investigation revealed that a South African female had allegedly been facilitating the travel and recruitment of these individuals into the Russian Federation military,” it said.

The four suspects on suspicion of violating the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, according to the Hawks.

The probe into how the 17 men ended up fighting in Ukraine has been ordered by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also working to bring them home.

The daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, has been accused by her half-sister of being involved in bringing those men to Russia under false pretenses. Police have also stated that they will look into this.

Although Zuma-Sambudla resigned from his position in parliament on Friday, he has not addressed the accusations in public.