JOHANNESBURG – A Portuguese businessman, kidnapped outside his place of business in Bramley, has been safely recovered and is back with his family.
According to a new release by the South African Police Service (SAPS) National Anti-Kidnapping Task Team, the 53-year-old businessman was located unharmed in a residence in Kempton Park on Tuesday afternoon.
In total, nine suspects have been apprehended in connection with the kidnapping. The Anti-Kidnapping Task Team located the businessman in Kempton Park, arresting four men and one woman on site. In a separate operation at an address in Hillbrow, authorities detained two additional women and one man. Notably, a 41-year-old police officer was also among those taken into custody, arrested at his workplace.
The syndicate is suspected of involvement in at least five cases of kidnapping that specifically targeted Portuguese businessmen, demanding ransom payments from the victims’ families. No ransom payment had been made at the time of the businessman’s rescue.
General Fannie Masemola, the National Commissioner of the SAPS, expressed both disappointment and resolve in light of the police officer’s arrest. “No member of the SAPS is above the law, irrespective of their rank. Police officers who are found on the wrong side of the law are dealt with accordingly. We will continue to root out rogue police officers from within our ranks,” said Gen Masemola.
From April to the present, the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team has arrested 70 suspects in Gauteng alone in connection with kidnapping cases involving ransom demands.