Riddle of kidnap bid by 'police'

Mystery surrounds the attempted abduction of a businessman by four "policemen" in Pietermaritzburg this week.

The 54-year-old man was saved by his son-in-law, who sped away from a group of armed men wielding rifles.

This week the 22-year-old son-in-law, who did not want to be identified, claimed four men dressed in police uniforms tried to handcuff his father-in-law for no reason.

"My father-in-law, sister-in-law and I had left the family supermarket on Tuesday evening. While travelling in Manning Avenue, I heard sirens and saw blue lights flashing from behind. I moved to the side to allow the car to pass, thinking it was a VIP vehicle transporting a member of parliament.

"The charcoal-grey Mercedes then pulled up in front of me. Four men in police uniforms carrying R4 rifles got out. They showed police identification. The pictures on the IDs looked very dark," he said.

"They said nothing and asked no questions. They tried to handcuff my father-in-law.

"I then realised something was wrong. Before they could handcuff him, I pulled his hand in and sped off. I drove to the Mountain Rise police station about 2km away. The Mercedes gave chase, but as I reached the police station, they pulled back."

The Mercedes had an Umhlanga registration.

"These men seemed very professional. We don't know what their motives were. We later viewed CCTV footage in the vicinity of the supermarket and found the car had passed the shop twice during the day."

The businessman said he was not involved in any political organisations that could have led to his being targeted.

SAPS spokesman Director Phindile Radebe said a case of attempted robbery had been opened.

In a similar incident five years ago, an Indian national, Moulana Mohammedah Ebrahim Jeebhai, and Pakistani Khalid Mehmood Rashid were bundled into luxury cars and driven out of Estcourt.

It was later revealed that Rashid had been deported by the Department of Home Affairs on suspicion that he was an international terrorist.