Gauteng police have rescued a kidnapped businessman and arrested three suspects believed to be part of a syndicate kidnapping unsuspecting business people and robbing them.
The three were arrested on Thursday night after they had already allegedly spent more than R25,000 “while an Ethiopian businessman had been blindfolded and tied up at a house in Kensington”. Police also impounded a hired vehicle and a licensed firearm, Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said on Saturday.
“This happened after the members of the provincial investigation unit were alerted about suspects who were demanding a ransom from the family of the businessman while they were fraudulently using his bank card to buy luxuries, including clothing and jewellery, in one of the East Rand stores,” he said.
“The victim was fetched from OR Tambo International Airport to conclude a business deal. He was taken by a bogus businessman to a house in Kensington where he was kidnapped. His family, who had suspicions that something might have gone wrong, contacted the police. In a matter of few hours, the suspects were taken into custody and [the] businessman, who appeared to have suffered at the hands of his kidnappers, was rescued.”
The provincial investigation unit might link the suspects to other cases under investigation where business people were robbed while en route to their destinations from OR Tambo International Airport.
Police also appealed to business people to be careful of invitations for business deals in private dwellings. The arrested suspects would be charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, and fraud when they appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday, Dlamini said.
– African News Agency (ANA)
