Police bust gang of kidnappers, free Ethiopian visitor

POLICE believe they have made a breakthrough after arresting three men suspected of kidnapping and robbing business people while en route to their destinations from OR Tambo International Airport.

Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said yesterday that although he didn’t have the exact number, there had been several cases recently where business people visiting South Africa were stopped immediately after they left the airport or were followed to their destination.

“Police believe this is done by organised gangs, and the arrested suspects are being profiled to establish if they are linked to such cases.

“The kidnapping of the latest victim is the work of organised crime,” he said.

In the most recent case, Dlamini said, a gang of three men were arrested on Thursday night after allegedly kidnapping and robbing an Ethiopian businessman.

“They had already fraudulently spent more than R25 000 while the businessman was blindfolded and tied up at a house in Kensington.

“He was kidnapped from OR Tambo International Airport,” he said.

Asked how the police had managed to apprehend the suspects, Dlamini explained that this had happened after members of the Provincial Investigation Unit were alerted to the gang, who were demanding a ransom from the businessman’s family.

“At the same time they were also fraudulently using the man’s bank card to buy luxuries, including clothing and jewellery, in an Ekurhuleni store.”

Dlamini said the victim was fetched from OR Tambo to conclude what he thought was a business deal.

“He was taken by a bogus businessman to a house in Kensington where he was kidnapped and robbed.

“His family, who had suspicions that something might have gone wrong, then contacted the police,” he said.

In a matter of a few hours, the three men were taken into custody and the businessman, “who appeared to have suffered under the hands of his kidnappers”, was rescued.

Dlamini said the police were appealing to business people to be careful of invitations for business deals in private dwellings.

“The police have impounded a hired vehicle and a licensed firearm that were confiscated at the scene,” he added.

The three men have been charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and fraud and were expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court today.

‘The businessman appears to have suffered during his kidnapping’