Khayelitsha Magistrate Court. Picture: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Cape Town - A 25-year-old woman from Strand is recovering at home following her rescue from her alleged abductors who snatched her almost a month ago.
Police said the victim was kidnapped during a house robbery in Strand on January 26.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said officials, following up on leads, conducted a take-down operation in Khayelitsha last week and discovered the victim in a building in Site B.
An SAPS multi-disciplinary team comprising the anti-kidnapping investigation task team, the provincial operations command combat unit, Strand detectives, the provincial hostage negotiation team, crime intelligence and the Hawks were involved in the rescue operation, he said.
Initially the investigation team descended on a property off Mew Way on Thursday, where officials discovered two firearms and 200 rounds of ammunition of different calibre.
“Police arrested a 29-year-old suspect and seized the firearms, ammunition and two tortoises, kept without a permit. Police also found small amounts of drugs, which they seized.”
After raiding the initial property, police proceeded to nearby premises where they discovered the kidnapped victim. “Members rescued the victim and in the process arrested a 22-year-old female suspect,” he said.
The suspects are due in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court once charged.
Last week’s rescue was the latest incident in which a kidnapping victim was found in Khayelitsha.
In June last year police arrested the alleged mastermind, Sivuyile “Lolo” Mki and several of his gang believed to be behind kidnappings-for-ransom in Khayelitsha.
The youngest kidnapping victim found in Khayelitsha was then-8-yearold Abirah Dektha held captive, for ransom, for two weeks after being taken from her Silversands home.
Meanwhile, police recorded more than 4 000 kidnapping cases across the country between October and December 2023 – around 453 more cases when compared to the same period in 2022.
Releasing the third-quarter crime statistics for 2023/24, Police Minister Bheki Cele said: “Kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative commodity for organised crime in South Africa.
“The SAPS continues to identify and arrest groupings linked to kidnappings with ransom demands. More than 300 suspects linked to these kidnappings have been arrested the last two years.”
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