GAUTENG. – A 37-year-old woman who was reported earlier this month as a kidnapping victim has now been arrested with an accomplice after police found the kidnapping was allegedly committed to extort ransom money. Police warn the public against filing false crime reports or fabricating crimes, as this diverts necessary police resources from genuine emergencies and hampers crime fighting.
The woman was arrested on 20 October together with her alleged accomplice following an investigation by detectives from Kwa-Thema, the anti-kidnapping unit and crime intelligence. The case was initially reported to police on 8 October after a family member reported that the woman had been kidnapped and that a ransom of R40 000 was demanded. She was found two days later along Vlakfontein Road near the Marikana informal settlement and was taken to hospital with injuries to her hands.
Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, police spokesperson in Gauteng, says the investigation revealed that the woman allegedly conspired with her accomplice to stage the kidnapping and extort money from her nephew. The two suspects are expected to appear in court on charges of defeating the ends of justice, extortion and staging a crime scene.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
