North West police, working with private security companies, rescued a kidnapped man and arrested two alleged kidnappers on charges including extortion, kidnapping and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The arrests were effected on Sunday after the alleged kidnappers collected the ransom money, according to North West police spokesperson Colonel Adéle Myburgh.
“The arrest came after a 23-year-old victim, was kidnapped during the early hours of Saturday morning, May 4, outside a night club in Stilfontein by armed men driving a Nissan vehicle. His vehicle, a Volkswagen Polo was also stolen during the kidnapping,” said Myburgh.
Shortly after the kidnapping incident, police said the kidnappers demanded ransom from the victim's family.
“They allegedly threatened to kill the victim should the family fail to meet their demands. The victim’s Volkswagen Polo was found abandoned later the same morning in Khuma,” she said.
“With the involvement of hostage negotiators, a drop-off point was agreed upon for the ransom to be paid on Sunday, and the (law enforcement) team tactically kept observations until a Mercedes Benz vehicle was spotted on the N12, close to Fochville at about 1pm.”
The occupants of the Mercedes Benz were confronted by police after they picked the ransom money.
“The suspects' vehicle sped off from the drop-off point, but ultimately came to a halt after the police fired shots. The suspects who ran off, were arrested by the team. One of the suspects, aged 40, was injured during the shooting incident and taken to hospital, where he is under police guard,” said Myburgh.
Police recovered the ransom money and seized the alleged kidnappers' vehicle and a firearm suspected to have been used during the commission of the crimes.
“After the arrest on the N12, the kidnapped victim was dropped off, unharmed, at Doornkop police station,” said Myburgh.
“One suspect, aged 33, is expected to appear in the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, May 7.”
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in North West, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena has saluted the law enforcement team “for working around the clock to arrest the suspects and confiscate an illegal firearm”.
Kwena said the arrest will send a strong message that criminal activities will not be tolerated.
Last month, IOL reported that while South Africa is grappling with a considerable increase in kidnapping cases, the worrying figures from Statistics SA (StatsSA) show that 85% of the victims are women and children.
According to 2023/2024 SA Police Service crime statistics, between July and September there were an alarming 4,300 reported kidnapping cases, while 293 children and 881 women were murdered in the last quarter of 2023.
IOL