THE Eastern Cape police had a breakthrough this week when they arrested three men suspected of being part of an abduction and kidnapping syndicate operating between East London and Mthatha.
The successful operation, comprising a partnership of a task force from KwaZulu-Natal, and the East London organised crime and the Mdantsane cluster crime intelligence units, saved a 20-year-old woman from Duncan Village in the early hours of Thursday after she had been abducted by three men.
The young woman had hitch-hiked on Tuesday from Mthatha to East London.
She was travelling in a silver-grey Volkswagen Polo when her ride turned into a nightmare.
What was supposed to be a quick trip turned ugly in Chintsa when the men made a U-turn and returned to Ngqamakhwe after blinding the victim with a spray gun.
Her cellphone was used to contact her family and a ransom of R30000 was demanded to free her.
“The police were tipped off about the case on Wednesday and upon contacting the family the case was confirmed. They said they were being called by the kidnappers and when we the police met with the family the kidnappers were indeed calling them. The men told the family that the girl had been kidnapped and that R30000 was demanded for her release. The men did not mention their location and because this was a serious case we had to call the task-force from Durban for operational purposes,” a police officer who was involved in the operation told the Dispatch.
The police traced the men from Ngqamakhwe, Tsomo, Cofimvaba and Queenstown as they changed location.
The task force arrived in Cofimvaba at 6am on Wednesday and a massive search operation was launched. The victim and the three men were found at a garage in Queenstown where they had run out of petrol.
“Luckily the girl was found unharmed. The criminals who are involved in this serious and growing crime seem not to be interested in harming the victims in any way but they are interested in money,” the police officer said.
This was the third case reported to the police since February. The other two happened in Cofimvaba and Butterworth involving a 12-year-old girl and 41-year-old woman who were freed from their kidnappers after payments of R30000 and R20000 respectively had been made.
Although the suspects reportedly confessed to this case, it was not clear if they were linked to the other two cases.
The men, aged between 28 and 36, are from Mqanduli and have been held at the Cambridge police station in East London.
Hawks national spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko confirmed the arrests yesterday and said “further investigations are under way and we expect more arrests to be made”.
Taxi associations in East London have once again urged commuters to stop hitch-hiking, saying it is not safe.
“We have been preaching for a stop to hitch-hiking because it is dangerous but people tell us it is their money and what they do is not our business.
“At taxi ranks these things don’t happen.
“We can’t control what happens at hiking spots because anyone can use that operation,” Mdantsane East London and District Association spokesman Welile Blayi said.
The men remain in custody and are expected to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Cop task team smash hitchhiker kidnap ring
The successful operation, comprising a partnership of a task force from KwaZulu-Natal, and the East London organised crime and the Mdantsane cluster crime intelligence units, saved a 20-year-old woman from Duncan Village in the early hours of Thursday after she had been abducted by three men.
The young woman had hitch-hiked on Tuesday from Mthatha to East London.
She was travelling in a silver-grey Volkswagen Polo when her ride turned into a nightmare.
What was supposed to be a quick trip turned ugly in Chintsa when the men made a U-turn and returned to Ngqamakhwe after blinding the victim with a spray gun.
Her cellphone was used to contact her family and a ransom of R30000 was demanded to free her.
“The police were tipped off about the case on Wednesday and upon contacting the family the case was confirmed. They said they were being called by the kidnappers and when we the police met with the family the kidnappers were indeed calling them. The men told the family that the girl had been kidnapped and that R30000 was demanded for her release. The men did not mention their location and because this was a serious case we had to call the task-force from Durban for operational purposes,” a police officer who was involved in the operation told the Dispatch.
The police traced the men from Ngqamakhwe, Tsomo, Cofimvaba and Queenstown as they changed location.
The task force arrived in Cofimvaba at 6am on Wednesday and a massive search operation was launched. The victim and the three men were found at a garage in Queenstown where they had run out of petrol.
“Luckily the girl was found unharmed. The criminals who are involved in this serious and growing crime seem not to be interested in harming the victims in any way but they are interested in money,” the police officer said.
This was the third case reported to the police since February. The other two happened in Cofimvaba and Butterworth involving a 12-year-old girl and 41-year-old woman who were freed from their kidnappers after payments of R30000 and R20000 respectively had been made.
Although the suspects reportedly confessed to this case, it was not clear if they were linked to the other two cases.
The men, aged between 28 and 36, are from Mqanduli and have been held at the Cambridge police station in East London.
Hawks national spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko confirmed the arrests yesterday and said “further investigations are under way and we expect more arrests to be made”.
Taxi associations in East London have once again urged commuters to stop hitch-hiking, saying it is not safe.
“We have been preaching for a stop to hitch-hiking because it is dangerous but people tell us it is their money and what they do is not our business.
“At taxi ranks these things don’t happen.
“We can’t control what happens at hiking spots because anyone can use that operation,” Mdantsane East London and District Association spokesman Welile Blayi said.
The men remain in custody and are expected to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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