APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) South African police have busted a kidnapping ring that has been targeting Portuguese businesspersons in the Johannesburg area.
According to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, nine suspects were arrested on Tuesday after law enforcement agents stormed two properties in Johannesburg’s Kempton Park and Hillbrow areas to rescue a Portuguese businessman who was recently kidnapped outside his business premises in the city.
The businessman was found by members of the police anti-kidnapping task team at a house in Kempton Park.
“The anti-kidnapping task team pounced on the address where the businessman had been kept in Kempton Park and arrested four men and a woman,” Mathe said.
The suspects led the police to another property in Hillbrow where two women and a man were also arrested, she said.
The ninth arrested suspect is a police officer who was picked up from workplace.
“The syndicate is alleged to be involved in at least five kidnapping cases where Portuguese businessmen were targeted. They would demand ransom payments from the victims’ families,” Mathe said.
She said no ransom payment was made at the time when police rescued the latest victim.
Cases of kidnapping have been on the rise in South Africa recently, with most of the syndicates targeting foreign businesspeople.
JN/APA