City was lucrative for kidnapping kids, court heard
THE man accused of being the mastermind behind the foiled kidnapping of a Pietermaritzburg schoolgirl also had his sights set on two other victims.
Asif Mohammed’s alleged plot to kidnap the girls – children of wealthy parents – for ransom of up to R4million was revealed in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Mohammed, 47, a Pakistani national, was arrested by the Hawks on September 28 and charged with conspiracy to kidnap. It emerged in court that Mohammed’s alleged plan included recruiting his friend in Lesotho to source kidnappers, as there was a ‘lucrative business in kidnapping’ in Pietermaritzburg.
The friend notified police of the alleged plot and a sting operation was set up. In his affidavit, Mohammed, who sells cellphones, bags and blankets at his shop on Church Street, said prior to moving to Pietermaritzburg he lived in Stutterheim, about 80km from East London.
Warrant Officer Johannes Anthony de Lange, of the Pietermaritzburg Organised Crime Unit, said in his statement that the “friend” was a police informer and a long-time friend of the accused.
“In 1997, the accused rented a shop in Lesotho where he became friends with the informer. His friendship continued even after he moved to Stutterheim in 1998.
“At the beginning of August 2018, the accused contacted the informant and informed him that he (had) moved to Pietermaritzburg, where there is a lucrative business in kidnapping. He identified a wealthy family and planned that they could make millions kidnapping the daughter,” the statement read.
“It is alleged the accused requested the informant organise people to kidnap the daughter and take her outside KZN, preferably to Lesotho, and he would negotiate the ransom.”
The court heard that the accused kept calling the informant to find out when he was sending people for the kidnapping.
“The informant told the accused he was going to be in Pietermaritzburg on September 20 for the kidnapping.
“The accused said he would prepare everything, so that the kidnapping could be done on the same day. The informer met with the accused and introduced him to the undercover agents before leaving.”
The kidnapping did not take place that day. The agents thereafter met twice with Mohammed where he gave them the address of the victim.
“The accused wrote the address down on a piece of paper and handed it to the agents. He furthermore informed the agents about two more victims’ particulars that he wanted to kidnap.
“On September 28, the agents met the accused and he confirmed the victim’s identity and handed over SIM cards to the agents to use after the kidnapping. The SIM cards cannot be traced by police.”
State prosecutor Rene Padayachee told the court that the investigating officer was awaiting cellphone recordings and phone extractions and was still trying to ascertain if others were involved with Mohammed.