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On Thursday, members of the police special task force rescued a kidnapping victim in the Gauteng suburb of Mayfield on the East Rand.
Six men were arrested, including the owner of the house where the victim was being held.
The business owner was abducted nearly two weeks ago in the Johannesburg suburb of Jeppe. According to police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe, he has been reunited with his family.
The homeowner’s wife told SurgeZirc SA that she had no idea the victim was in her home because she had been attending a sangoma initiation school for six weeks.
The woman, who cannot be identified because it would identify her husband, claimed she had no idea her husband was allegedly involved in a kidnapping ring.
“He would come and visit me at the school to drop off money and food for my upkeep, but he never said anything to me. I am shocked and angry,” she said.
A member of the community informed her that police had raided her home. Neighbours who spoke to the media on Thursday said the house had been a hub of activity in recent days, with a variety of expensive vehicles pulling up on a regular basis.
A neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said they became suspicious of the activity because the house’s owner, who had moved there two years ago with his wife, did not own any vehicles.
The police surrounded the house around 5 a.m. on Thursday, according to a neighbour.
Without firing a shot, heavily armed officers scaled the walls and arrested five men inside the house.
According to sources, the businessman, an Ethiopian national, was kidnapped from his vehicle after leaving his business in Jeppe on January 7. His vehicle was discovered abandoned with the ignition still turned on, according to a source, after he was apparently forced off the road.
Police seized 20 cellphones and three GPS tracking units among other items. Police also seized five high-end vehicles, some of which were brand new:
- a Mercedes-Benz E350;
- a Mercedes-Benz A200;
- a 2023 Mini Cooper Countryman;
- a Toyota Urban Cruiser; and
- a BMW X4.