SA cops rescue kidnapped Zimbabwe woman

SA cops rescue kidnapped Zimbabwe woman

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By Staff Reporter

FOUR foreign nationals were arrested for kidnapping a Zimbabwean woman and holding her hostage in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, police said on Friday.

Police reacted to a tip-off by the woman's brother on Thursday, who told police that the men approached his sister with an offer to bring her into South Africa to find work, Inspector Kriban Naidoo said.

The woman was apparently picked up from a border post on Sunday.

"She told the men that she didn't have money to pay them immediately and they told her that they would make an arrangement to be paid when she was in South Africa."

However, the kidnappers intended to extort money from the woman's family for her safe return, said Naidoo.

"They contacted her brother and he paid R400 to them for the safe return of his sister."

The kidnappers, however, told the woman's brother that the amount was too little and they would not release her.

The brother left without any money, then contacted the Hillbrow police and asked them to intervene.

"An investigation determined that the woman was being held at the Vickers Court building on the corners of Caroline and Quartz streets (in Hillbrow)."

The four kidnappers were arrested shortly thereafter on Thursday afternoon and police confiscated R2 800.

But an investigation determined that the syndicate had been targeting individuals at the border for many months.

"They basically sussed out the border for people with excess baggage and struck deals with the poor, saying that payment could be made when they reached South Africa."

Naidoo was reluctant to reveal the nationality of the kidnappers, saying that it would add to the problem of xenophobia.

"They managed to extort money from many families in this way."

He said more arrests were imminent and that more charges would be brought against the men as the investigation progressed.

"The public need to be vigilant and careful for conmen who entice people with ways to help them but who have the intention to rob, kill and steal."

The men are expected to appear in the Hillbrow Magistrate's court soon.

Meanwhile, Naidoo said that in separate incidents, 22 people were arrested in Hillbrow between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

The charges ranged from assault, armed robbery, drug possession and reckless and negligent driving.

One man was also arrested for possession of a counterfeit R20 note. - Sapa
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