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The suspect linked to a kidnapping syndicate was arrested and will appear in Roodepoort Magistrate Court today.
(The Post News)- A 39-year-old man is scheduled to appear in the Roodepoort Magistrates Court on Thursday in connection with the kidnapping of a Portuguese butcher shop owner.
The man was arrested at the home where the victim was found Monday night and has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, extortion, and robbery.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said 12 businessmen and six students who had been kidnapped for ransom in the past six months had been rescued by a multidisciplinary team led by the police’s Anti-Kidnapping Task Team.
Mathe said the victim was rescued a week after he was kidnapped.
According to Mathe, the SAPS Anti-Kidnapping Task Team, as well as other law enforcement agencies and private security, have been working hard to find the businessman safe and unharmed.
The victim was snatched from his business premises in Florida on Monday, June 24.
“On Monday evening, July 1, the unit traced the victim to a home in Snake Park, Soweto, where he had been in captivity,” Mathe said.
Mate said one of the kidnappers was arrested in Turffontein, Johannesburg, that same evening.
The suspect is believed to be part of a syndicate involved in at least four other kidnappings targeting businessmen in the Johannesburg area.
“The team is now searching for suspects who worked with this man,” Mathe said.
She further explained that in cases where businessmen and students were rescued, no ransom was paid, which was a direct result of the expertise and skill of the collaboration between SAPS investigators, the Criminal Intelligence Unit, and private security.
The 49-year-old victim is one of at least 20 Portuguese butcher shop owners and their employees who have been kidnapped in Gauteng since January 2023.
In October, the police arrested seven men in connection with the kidnapping of a Portuguese butcher in Sandringham. The defendants include a police officer from Bramley police station.
Between January 2024 and to date, 49 kidnappers who requested ransoms from the families of their victims have been arrested in Gauteng, North West, and Free State.
Twenty-one vehicles used in these crimes have been seized, and eight firearms have also been recovered.
“The SAPS is confident that by working together with all stakeholders and through information provided by the public, it will continue to take down more syndicates believed to be responsible for kidnappings for ransom across the country,” Mathe said.
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