South African Police Rescue 2 Kidnap Victims Alive in Johannesburg



The victims, two men aged 64 and 34 respectively, were rescued alive after a shootout with the kidnappers, the South African police said in a statement.


One of the kidnappers was killed, a second hospitalized and four others detained during the police operation carried out at the end of the day on Monday, he said.


The police highlighted that after the kidnapping, last Sunday, the kidnappers "immediately began demanding ransom from their respective families".


Contacted by Lusa, the South African police said that the victims were of South African nationality.


Last week, two Portuguese businessmen were rescued alive by South African police in the city of Soweto, southwest of the city of Johannesburg.


The first was rescued on Monday, and the second on Thursday. In total and related to these two cases, six people were arrested in the province of Gauteng, where Johannesburg, the economic capital, and Pretoria, the country's capital, are located.


Over a six-month period, more than 54 kidnappers operating in Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga and the Free State were arrested.


South Africa is facing an increase in the crime of kidnapping in which large amounts of money are demanded to rescue victims, according to police.


In the last quarter of 2023, the South African police recorded 4,577 kidnappings in the country.


Official data indicate that between October and December 2023, the province of Gauteng - the epicenter of kidnappings in the country - recorded a 20% increase in the number of kidnappings, recording 2,367 cases, which represents more than half of the kidnappings in South Africa. South during the period under analysis (4,577 cases).


According to the police, in the last two years, more than 200 alleged kidnappers have been arrested.


Since the beginning of the year, more than 390 million rand (around 20 million euros) has been demanded in the approximately 80 kidnappings investigated by the South African Police (SAPS) anti-kidnapping unit, according to local press.