The British government has warned of an increasing threat of kidnapping throughout South Africa linked to the Islamic State (IS) and crime in general.
London’s warning on its travel advisory website followed the abduction of a South African-British couple in KwaZulu-Natal (KNZ) earlier this month.
“In February 2018, two South African-British dual nationals were kidnapped. There’s an increasing threat of kidnap throughout SA,” read the warning.
“Kidnaps can be for financial gain or motivated by criminality. British nationals can be perceived as being wealthier than locals and may be at particular risk of kidnap for financial gain.”
The dual national couple, aged 64 and 73, who lived in South Africa, went missing on February 12 after their alleged abduction from northern KZN, with Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha confirming on Tuesday that officers had caught two suspects believed to be linked to the elderly couple’s disappearance.
Ramovha said police had been hunting the suspects – Sayfydeen Aslam del Vecchio, 38, and Fatima Patel, 27 – on arson charges ever since they allegedly torched a Huletts sugar cane field in the province, last year, Independent Media reported.
The two were arrested last Friday and subsequently linked to the disappearance of the couple.
On Monday, Del Vecchio and Patel were charged with kidnapping, robbery and arson as they appeared in the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court.
The suspects remain in police custody and will appear in court again next week to apply for bail.
Patel and her brother, Ebrahim, were arrested during the same 2016 Gauteng raids that saw terror-accused twins Brendon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie arrested.
They were charged with violating the Explosives Act and the Firearms Control Act and released on R5,000 bail each.
However, Ramovha said that this was “not necessarily linked to terrorism”.
