Criminals resort to kidnappings at border post

KOMATIPOORT - Abduction, demanding ransom for their lives, and even killing people. These are the latest tactics used by criminal gangs targeting mainly truck drivers waiting on the N4 to cross the border into Mozambique.

For years now the drivers of slowmowing, mineral-carrying trucks and those who do retail deliveries have been frustrated by the lack of facilities and the traffic jams caused at the Lebombo Border Post.

In an incident last week, gangs consisting of organised criminal elements, mainly based in the smallish border town of Ressano Garcia in Mozambique close to Lebombo, changed their tactics and abducted a truck driver.

He was allegedly dragged into the

The police and soldiers deployed at the border had conducted patrols to try and find the criminal nest

extremely thick and bushy area along the border post and tied up, and ransom was claimed for his release.

The victim, who spoke to Lowvelder this week, was very reluctant and scared to talk about his ordeal, out of fear that he would once again be targeted by these gangs in retaliation. He confirmed that he had been abducted by a gang of about four criminals and held in a clearing in the dense thicket.

They allegedly called his employer, a well-known trucking operator who has many trucks crossing the border daily to deliver his mineral load to Maputo, and demanded a R15 000 ransom for his release. However, the owner refused to pay, saying he does not negotiate with abductors or criminals.

The gang allegedly called the driver’s family, threatening to kill him if they did not pay. They eventually manage to scrape the money together and made an eWallet transfer to an account supplied by the abductors.

The victim said while he was held captive, the gang showed him the “bodies” of two men who had allegedly been killed because they had not complied with their ransom demands.

The family also reported the matter to the police and a search party consisting of SAPS members and soldiers deployed for border duty, searched for the criminals.

Over the past year there has been a serious escalation in the number of trucks being stuck on the N4 in a gridlock, because they cannot move through the border quick enough.

Truckers were originally targeted and robbed of their personal belongings and bank cards. A thief would hold up the victim with a knife while the rest of the thugs went to an ATM to withdraw money. If the Pin supplied by the driver was incorrect, they would be severely assaulted. these criminals did not hesitate to stab a driver with a knife sometimes. This has now escalated to abduction. A resident with intimate knowledge of the security issues in the Komatipoort area, said the police and soldiers deployed at the border had conducted patrols to try and find the criminal nest.

He said, however, for the group of three soldiers who are currently searching for the hideout, it is an impossible task to track down anything in such a large, bushy area.

A request for comment was sent to the police, but they had not replied by the time of going to press.