More than 30 victims of kidnapping for ransom rescued this year: Thandi Modise

More than 30 victims of kidnapping for ransom have been rescued from April this year to date, and 98 suspects have been arrested for the crimes.

Defence minister Thandi Modise said one case involved a syndicate targeting the LGBTQI+ community on a dating app. The break came when an 18-year-old Wits student was traced and rescued, resulting in the arrest of seven suspects.

Another syndicate targeting Portuguese businessmen was traced in October, leading to the arrest of nine suspects.

Modise, accompanied by ministers in the justice, crime prevention and security cluster, on Friday addressed a briefing on progress made in combating serious crime.

“Since May the country has adopted a decisive approach in reducing the high levels of crime. It is through Operation Shanela that the police service has successfully arrested 213,059 suspects for crimes such as cash-in-transit robberies, extortion at construction sites and kidnappings in the past six months. During the same period 2,657 illegal and unwanted firearms were confiscated,” she said.

Government's sights are on the construction mafia, Modise said.

“Of late the country has been experiencing sporadic incidents of violence and extortion at economic sites due to the demand of a 30% share in community projects. Threats were identified that negatively affect the economy, and in response to the threats the cluster has initiated specific interventions to ensure a safe and secure environment conducive for social and economic stability and growth.”

Investigative capacity has been boosted in all nine provinces to accelerate and enhance a multidisciplinary approach to address potential and actual crimes, she said.

From April to date, she said 61 suspects linked to extortions were arrested and since 2019, 27 accused have been convicted and sentenced. 

In combating gang violence, she said the deployment of anti-gang unit members continues in provinces prone to gang violence such as the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng. So far 190 arrests have been made in 145 cases. 

A task team deployed in February to tackle cross-border vehicle smuggling continues to register commendable progress, the minister said.

More than 140 suspects have been arrested for theft, car hijackings and murder, with 64 vehicles recovered and 57 firearms seized.

Modise said: “In August police registered a major breakthrough when three wanted suspects linked to vehicle smuggling activities between Mozambique and South Africa were arrested. The trio has also been linked to a crime activist who was executed in February this year.”

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