NATIONAL NEWS - Though the police anti-kidnapping task team has made hundreds of arrests in recent years, a security expert says that what started out as syndicate-driven targeted kidnappings of rich individuals has evolved into a free-for-all with copycat syndicates springing up to get in on the action.
Kidnappings no longer confined to the wealthy
Chad Thomas, of IRS Forensic Investigations, said: “We see multiple express kidnappings taking place each week, where people are held for a few hours while their bank accounts are cleared.
“We’re seeing kidnap for ransom cases where victims can be held for months while tens of millions of rands are negotiated; we’re seeing kidnappings of middle-class victims in suburbia released on payments of thousands of rands, and kidnappings in informal settlements of children released after a few hundred rands are paid. No one is immune to this growing scourge.”
The South African Police Service’s (Saps) anti-kidnapping task team has made 437 arrests in the past four years, secured 68 convictions, and seized 182 firearms in its ongoing crackdown on kidnapping-for-ransom syndicates.
The crime intelligence national anti-kidnapping task team was established in November 2021 following a rise in kidnappings where a ransom was demanded.
Saps Major-General Feroz Khan shared the numbers during a briefing at a law enforcement and private security industry public-private partnership summit at the weekend.
The Civilian Crime Intelligence Network summit took place at Capital Air’s Rand Airport hangar in Germiston.
Billions demanded, millions paid
Khan said the results show that the team is dismantling criminal networks linked to drug trafficking, cross-border smuggling, and organised crime.
Since 2021, there have been 402 cases of kidnapping, 328 victims and 979 intelligence-linked and proactive preventions.
“The total ransom demands emanating from the committed crimes were about R1.8 billion, with R150 million in ransoms paid,” said Khan, of which R28 million was recovered by authorities.
The Civilian Crime Intelligence Network summit took place at Capital Air’s Rand Airport hangar in Germiston.
Billions demanded, millions paid
Khan said the results show that the team is dismantling criminal networks linked to drug trafficking, cross-border smuggling, and organised crime.
Since 2021, there have been 402 cases of kidnapping, 328 victims and 979 intelligence-linked and proactive preventions.
“The total ransom demands emanating from the committed crimes were about R1.8 billion, with R150 million in ransoms paid,” said Khan, of which R28 million was recovered by authorities.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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