A thirty-year-old Gauteng mother has been safely reunited with her family. This was after a multidisciplinary team consisting of members in the South African Police Service (SAPS) swooped in on her kidnappers in a shack in Kgabaletsane in the Klipgat policing precinct in the North West province.
On Tuesday, 14 September 2021, a multidisciplinary team consisting of members from the National Crime Intelligence Unit, National Organised Crime Unit, local and district detectives from Tshwane, as well as members of the Tactical Response Teams (TRT), members of the Hartebeespoort Dam police station and National hostage negotiators worked around the clock to find the mother that had been kidnapped from her home in Atteridgeville, Gauteng.
The mother was kidnapped by at least two men who at the time of the incident were impersonating police officials.
During the kidnapping ordeal, her kidnappers made contact with the victim’s brother demanding a ransom.
Immediately after the report was made, police and the multidisciplinary team assembled and mobilised the 72-hour Activation Plan.
In the meantime, the victim’s car was found yesterday afternoon by a vehicle tracking company.
The multidisciplinary team intensified its efforts and followed up on several leads and just after midnight, the victim was found under guard by one of her kidnappers in a shack in Klipgat.
The victim was immediately rescued and taken for counseling and debriefing by the SAPS hostage negotiators.
A 27-year-old male was arrested and police are still on a manhunt for his accomplice.
The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Khehla Sitole has commended the multidisciplinary team for reuniting the victim with her family, safe and unharmed.
“The 72-hour activation plan has yielded positive results, within hours after the crime was committed, our teams have managed to secure the life of this young woman and ensured that she is back home safe and unharmed with her family. Our work is not done, we are hot on the heels of the accomplice”, said General Khehla Sitole.
The SAPS wishes to remind the public that they have a right to request any person alleging to be a police officer to identify themselves by means of producing a SAPS appointment certificate bearing a photo, rank, and date of appointment of the member in question.