A South African radio presenter appeared in court on Monday accused of recruiting people to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
Police said Nonkululeko Mantula was arrested following a tip-off.
He is accused of recruiting the four men he arrested and arranging for them to join Russian forces currently engaged in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Police said the case has been postponed to December 8 for formal bail plea and the five accused have been remanded to custody.
What else do we know about the case?
Police said the three men were detained as they tried to cross to Russia via the United Arab Emirates, adding that they believed Mantula had already succeeded in recruiting at least one other person who was now in Russia.
Mantula is a presenter on the public broadcaster’s SAFM radio station. His trial follows an investigation into the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who faces similar charges.
Duduzile Juma-Sambudla is accused, along with two others, of inciting 17 people to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
Zuma-Sambudla resigned as MPs from her father’s opposition MK party last week following the allegations.
South Africa’s policy on fighting foreign armies
It is illegal in South Africa to fight for another country’s military without government permission.
Moscow has repeatedly been accused of recruiting foreigners to fight for it in Ukraine, often luring them with job offers.
He is also accused of defrauding African women, including from South Africa, through hospitality job advertisements and tricking them into working in Russian drone factories.
The South African government has warned about social media campaigns promising jobs and study opportunities in Russia, warning that they could be a recruitment front for the war.
Edited by: Kieran Burke