Cape Town – Almost 50 people have been arrested by police in the past six months in connection with kidnappings and ransom demands.
The South African Government News Agency reports that from January 2024 49 kidnappers who had demanded ransom payment from families of victims were arrested in Gauteng, the North West and Free State.
The report comes after a man accused of having links to kidnap syndicate targeting Portuguese butchery owners in Johannesburg has appeared in court on charges including extortion and kidnapping.
EWN reports that the accused, Bongani Dube, limped into the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, claiming that the police had assaulted him during his arrest on Monday night.
Dube, 39, was arrested following the successful rescue of a 49-year-old businessman who was kidnapped outside his business in Florida, Johannesburg, on 24 June. Police are also reportedly tracing Dube’s alleged accomplices.
#sapsHQ A 49-year-old Portuguese businessman is the latest #kidnapping victim to be rescued by the SAPS anti-kidnapping task team together with other law enforcement agencies and private security who have been working around the clock to find the businessman, safe and unharmed.… pic.twitter.com/97VpnEYKUS
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) July 2, 2024
According to news reports, 20 Portuguese butchery owners have been kidnapped and held for ransom in about 18 months, with four being kidnapped over three days last week.
Ransom demands have ranged from R400 000 to R10 million.
Following the latest incident, police said they had been working around the clock to find the kidnapped businessman. Dube is reported to have led police to a house in Snake Park, Soweto, where they found the victim handcuffed. No ransom was paid in this case.
Police said that in the past six months, 49 kidnappers who had demanded ransom payment from families of victims had been arrested in Gauteng, the North West and Free State.
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Picture: X/@SAPoliceService
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