A taxi pulled over in Komatipoort was found to contain 14 girls from Mozambique.
A 32-year-old man was sentenced to six months' imprisonment or a R6 000 fine, suspended for three years, for smuggling 14 minor Mozambican girls into South Africa.
Moises Armando Mate pleaded guilty to unlawfully assisting the minors, aged between four and 16, enter the country on 6 December.

He was caught after police stopped his minibus in Komatipoort, Mpumalanga, near the Mozambique border, and the 14 girls were inside the vehicle.
According to the Hawks, the minibus was stopped by members of the Border Management Authority on the N4 next to one of the filling station

Mate was handed over to Komatipoort police, who opened a case of aiding and abetting.
"The victims were handed over to the Department of Social Development for assessment before they were sent back to their country of origin," police said.
The Hawks said Mate's sentence was suspended on condition that he was not found unlawfully assisting any people to enter, remain in, or depart from South Africa.
Major-General Nico Gerber, the Mpumalanga Hawks head, welcomed the sentence.
"Aiding and abetting people to illegally enter, depart, or remain in the Republic undermines both the country's laws and human dignity," he said.