The police have rescued an Ethiopian businessman from a kidnapping ring in Kensington, Johannesburg. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the businessman was abducted outside a restaurant in Norwood on Sunday.

DEADLY RESCUE MISSION

Mathe said a team comprising various units within the SAPS, led by the anti-kidnapping task team working closely with private security, traced the victim to a house in Kensington. She said a shoot-out ensued, and one kidnapper was shot dead while five others were arrested. "Vehicles used in the commission of the crime were seized, and some items belonging to the victim have been seized, including luxury watches and jewellery," Mathe said, adding that the police seized four illegal firearms, including an AK47.

ON TO THEM 

In the past week, Mathe said the police made big recoveries from various operations. They have also recovered 50 hijacked and stolen vehicles. Also last week, police destroyed R340 million worth of drugs in Cape Town; these were drugs that were seized during operations. "In the last three years, the police have destroyed drugs worth R5.2 billion. Last week alone, the police seized 112 handguns, 38 of those being from the Western Cape. Mathe added that the police also seized 25 rifles, 13 shotguns, and five homemade guns. In August 2024, crime statistics revealed that in the past two years, more than 250 kidnappers of various nationalities were arrested, and more than twenty businessmen were rescued. Six students were also rescued during this period. "In six months, more than 54 kidnappers operating in Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, and Free State have been arrested. According to the 2022/23 annual crime statistics, the total number of kidnappings in South Africa in that period was 15,342. Gauteng had the highest incidence, with 7,818 reported," added Mathe.