An elderly couple was rescued by police after being kidnapped at knifepoint , then driven to several banks by their abductors in Cape Town at the weekend.
The pair was confronted early on Saturday by a man and a woman brandishing knives while picking flowers near Big Bay.
“The suspects demanded their possessions. The elderly gentleman informed the male that he has a cellphone at home and would give it to them,” police said in a statement on Monday.
The couple was instructed to get into a vehicle and driven home to a secure complex in Parklands where a guard at the gate noticed the residents were accompanied by strangers and started a conversation. The male victim, at that point, shouted for help but the abductors reversed and sped off. The guard alerted Table View police station and details of the vehicle were circulated.
“The victims were driven to Delft and various banks, which were all closed, and eventually taken to Parow for another attempt at banks inside a mall, which was also unsuccessful. It was in Parow that the police observed the vehicle in a parking area of a mall and arrested the suspects, a 26-year-old female and a 34-year-old male, and rescued the elderly couple, who were unharmed, but traumatised,” said police.
The suspects were expected to appear in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Monday.
Table View station commander Col Junaid Alcock commended officers and other partners involved in the arrests as well as the complex security guard for his swift response.
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Police rescue elderly couple ‘kidnapped’ while picking flowers in Cape Town
An elderly couple was rescued by police after being kidnapped at knifepoint , then driven to several banks by their abductors in Cape Town at the weekend.
The pair was confronted early on Saturday by a man and a woman brandishing knives while picking flowers near Big Bay.
“The suspects demanded their possessions. The elderly gentleman informed the male that he has a cellphone at home and would give it to them,” police said in a statement on Monday.
The couple was instructed to get into a vehicle and driven home to a secure complex in Parklands where a guard at the gate noticed the residents were accompanied by strangers and started a conversation. The male victim, at that point, shouted for help but the abductors reversed and sped off. The guard alerted Table View police station and details of the vehicle were circulated.
“The victims were driven to Delft and various banks, which were all closed, and eventually taken to Parow for another attempt at banks inside a mall, which was also unsuccessful. It was in Parow that the police observed the vehicle in a parking area of a mall and arrested the suspects, a 26-year-old female and a 34-year-old male, and rescued the elderly couple, who were unharmed, but traumatised,” said police.
The suspects were expected to appear in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Monday.
Table View station commander Col Junaid Alcock commended officers and other partners involved in the arrests as well as the complex security guard for his swift response.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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