The exponential rise of kidnapping in South Africa has worried a police force that is grossly understaffed and underpaid.
Kidnapping is on the rise in South Africa
In 2019, according to Business Tech, South Africa’s kidnapping syndicates raked in more than R1 billion in ransom money. The advanced sophistication of their methods is way above Saps’ pay grade and with no clear operative strategy to address this, it is a crime that remains on a meteoric rise.
Often, kidnappers target international visitors. In most cases, it is Asian travellers who use the black market to gain fraudulent documents to enter our borders.
“That is how they get kidnapped. The abductors contact their families in Asia, demanding a ransom for their release,” police spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo told the cited publication.
Local businessmen and retirees are the new targets
However, the advent of the coronavirus (Covid-19) and the subsequent closure of our ports of entry means that kidnapping syndicates have had to be agile in selecting their targets.
From the recent case of Mohamed Zehad and others, it seems that local businessmen and elderly people in retirement are the main targets.
More recently, a 76-year-old man whose identity has been withheld for security reasons was kidnapped and held hostage at a location in Phillip Nel Park, Pretoria whilst his banking accounts were emptied at nearby filling stations.
According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha, an intelligence operation was launched after authorities in Pretoria were alerted of the elderly man’s ordeal.
Advanced tracking systems were used to trace the whereabouts of the suspects and transactions going off the victim’s bank accounts informed authorities of their movements.
“They took up their strategic positions and identified a suspicious Hyundai i20 hatchback entering into a local petrol station with two occupants.
“The two suspects then exited the vehicle, went to the automatic teller machine where they withdrew money in several transactions and drove off,” Captain Ramovha said in a statement.
The vehicle was tailed for a short distance before authorities swooped in. Two suspects were ordered out of the vehicle and placed under arrest.
“The two suspects were found in possession of the victim’s bank card and other valuables. The suspects then gave details of an address where the victim was being held, hostage.
“The identified premises were accessed, one more suspect was apprehended from the premises. The shocked but unharmed victim was rescued and his vehicle was also recovered from the scene,” Ramovha added.
Three suspects, aged between 34 and 37, are expected to appear before a court in Pretoria on charges of kidnapping, extortion and possession of stolen property.
Is there a way to combat kidnapping in SA?
While this victory was commended, Vishnu firmly believes that kidnappings will remain on the rise for the simple fact that most families cooperate with the demands of the criminals.
“The families of victims never report the crimes as they are threatened not to do so. In most cases, families of victims simply choose to pay the ransom and never involve the police,” he said.