Four friends who were kidnapped allegedly by a group of men pretending to be police officers have been reunited with their families.
The men, Ziyaad and Jameel Salley, Yusuf Saber and Ahmed Dhorat, were travelling between Standerton and Trichart in Mpumalanga when they were stopped by the bogus policemen on Monday.
According to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the fake cops were driving a white VW Polo fitted with blue lights.
"The four men were kidnapped and kept captive while the suspects withdrew large sums of money from their bank accounts," Mathe said.
She said the matter was reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS), and the anti-kidnapping task team operationalised information and traced the friends within 48 hours to a house in Vosloorus in Gauteng.
Photos of the victims:
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) January 9, 2024
•Jameel Salley
•Yusuf Saber
•Ahmed Dhorat
•Ziyaad Salley#CrimeWatch https://t.co/jFpWDBqtqw pic.twitter.com/Wz2ct7tuF8
Speaking to Ridge Times, Saber's father, Jakes, said the boys were in good spirits.
The four were reportedly travelling to Standerton to play padel tennis when they were stopped. Saber said large sums of money were withdrawn from their bank accounts.
Mathe said a manhunt for the suspects is under way.
In a similar case, a Canadian family was abducted by men dressed in police uniforms and robbed of their personal belongings.The family had been visiting the country over the festive period and were accosted by bogus police officers, also in Mpumalanga.
Mathe said in the last two years, more than 300 suspects linked to kidnappings where ransom demands were made or victims were made to withdraw large sums of money from their accounts have been arrested.
IOL