The Western Cape Multi-disciplinary Kidnapping Task Team arrested a foreign national man on charges of allegedly faking his own kidnapping to extort funds from his family for gambling.
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Police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk said the 25-year-old was reported as kidnapped by his brother, who had received a message from an anonymous telephone number.
According to reports, the suspect left his residence in David Venda Street in the Betterlife section of Philippi East on Tuesday, 2 January, to deposit rent money into a Shoprite account nearby.
His brother, who had left for work in the early hours of the morning, found the message of the suspect’s kidnapping at around 6pm when he switched on his phone and contacted the police.
‘He found a message indicating his brother had been kidnapped and the suspects were demanding a ransom amount between R4 000 and R5 000 for his safe return,’ said van Wyk. ‘They also said they took the [rent] money and the cellphone of the captive and were in the Khayelitsha area’.
Van Wyk added that the wife of the complainant reportedly also received a message from a different number instructing her to deposit the requested ransom to this number. The ransom amount increased to R15 000 when the ‘captive’ never returned home on 2 January.
The family paid the R15 000 ransom demand via e-wallet a week later, on Tuesday, 9 January.
The following day, the 25-year-old returned home and ‘admitted that he and his friend staged the kidnapping as they wanted to extort money from his family,’ said van Wyk.
The suspect, who is currently being detained at Philppi East Police Station, is scheduled to appear in the Athlone Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 12 January.
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