By Kashiefa Ajam and Hans Pienaar
The Leigh Matthews kidnapping and murder was only the tip of a very frightening iceberg.
Kidnappings for ransom are the biggest growth sector in the South African crime business. But the public is unaware of this because many of the crimes aren't reported to the police - and, of those which are, the vast majority are kept quiet and far away from the media.
Director Charles Johnson, from the SA Police Area Johannesburg detective branch, said his office receives more than a dozen cases each month.
"We have a very high success rate and urge people not to go to the media because this can determine whether the victim lives or dies.
"We have lost only two people in the past three years - Leigh Matthews and one other person - and we do not intend to lose anybody else in a similar situation."
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And a hardened private investigator believes there has been "astronomical" growth in kidnappings, to the extent that they are as threatening as cash-in-transit heists and that a special police unit should be set up to deal with them.
Slang van Zyl, the Roodepoort private investigator who has made a name for himself as one of the country's top private investigators specialising in "difficult cases" involving kidnappings and complex premeditated murders, said: "As we speak, several prospective kidnappers are waiting for just the right moment to strike."
Van Zyl said that to avoid cases like the botched attempt to free Leigh Matthews, a unit should be set up on a similar level to the police's successful cash-in-transit heist unit.
"What should have been different about the Matthews case was that she should have been returned alive," said Van Zyl on Friday. He believes this would have been the outcome had a team of well-trained specialists been on the case from the start.
Such a team would specialise in hostage negotiations, covert observations and house penetration. The unit should be supported by adopting the clear policy to hand over all kidnapping cases to it the moment they are reported.
What was alarming about the Matthews case, he said, was the police's lack of confidence - apparent from the way in which it was handled.
This arose from the absence of a publicly known structure to deal with kidnappings.
Incidents were simply reported to the nearest police station, where they would be dealt with in an ad hoc manner.
Speed was of the essence, and only a dedicated unit would be able to rise to the task.
He said in all of his recent cases he was able to return the "target person" safely. If he could do it, a team of well-trained professionals would also be able to do so.
Van Zyl was particularly critical about the decisions taken during a crucial stage of the Matthews case - when the ransom money was being delivered and a police officer accompanying Rob Matthews was asked to leave the vehicle.
Van Zyl said kidnappings were on the increase as a worldwide phenomenon because of the "easy money".
In South Africa their occurrence was boosted by companies taking increasingly successful preventative measures against all sorts of crime, leaving kidnapping as the only option for many criminals.
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