Gqeberha businesswoman snatched at the weekend has been found

An Eastern Cape woman allegedly kidnapped in Gqeberha at the weekend has returned home and is safe, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old woman was apparently abducted on Sunday evening at her business in Zwide.

The Eastern Cape Hawks were reluctant to comment as it was not their success, but they provided details on the incident. 

They explained that the woman was taken in front of her employees and husband while she was serving customers.

“Two unknown men are reported to have barged into the business and fled with the woman in a brown VW Polo which was later found abandoned in Klaas Street in Gqeberha.

“According to the victim, she was blindfolded and taken to a roofless, deserted house in Mbeki Street, Ezinyoka, in Gqeberha. Her hands were tied with cable ties. Yesterday [Monday] evening she managed to untie herself and jumped over the wall to the neighbour for assistance. Her family and friends were called,” they said.

They said no ransom was paid and made no mention of arrests.

This is the third reported kidnapping in the Eastern Cape in the past two weeks. 

Reports emerged on Friday of the apparent kidnapping of a young businessman in Nqanqarhu (Maclear). 

TimesLIVE previously reported that Hilton Wicks was grabbed in Nqanqarhu in the early hours of Friday, according to several posts shared on social media. A poster shared on Facebook said Wicks was last seen with the alleged kidnappers driving towards Langeni in a white VW Polo with an unknown registration plate. 

He was also released in the early hours of Monday. The same day he was snatched, biokineticist Riana Pretorius, who had been missing for a week, was returned home.

TimesLIVE

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