Durban - The 29-year-old man charged with kidnapping a toddler from a shop at an uMhlanga shopping mall last week is being detained while investigators look into his involvement in a possible syndicate.
This emerged on Monday at the Verulam Magistrate’s Court, where Ntandoyenkosi Bulose appeared charged with kidnapping a minor.
According to police, a 57-year-old woman was with her 2-year-old grandson, making a purchase at a shopping mall in uMhlanga last Thursday when a man picked up the boy, who was seated in a trolley, and walked off with him.
When the petrified grandmother realised that the child was gone, she began running around in the mall, frantically screaming out for him.
She then spotted a man wearing a security guard’s uniform walking into a shop with her grandson. She grabbed the child from the man’s arms and reported the incident to the mall management, who contacted police.
Police arrived at the scene and viewed the CCTV footage. The man was identified as a security guard on duty at the mall and was promptly arrested.
A case of kidnapping was opened at Durban North police station.
Spokesperson for The Crescent Mall, Kalpana Ramsamy, confirmed that the incident took place at a store at The Crescent last week. “The security guard was not employed by centre management but has been employed by the tenant where the incident occurred.
“The tenant has advised us that the security guard has been arrested and has appeared in court. We’re uncertain about the details. The Crescent has, however, provided additional security at the centre to ensure safety of shoppers.”
In court on Monday the State said it would oppose Bulose’s release on bail.
Prosecutor Sabelo Ziqubu said police were also investigating a possible syndicate and asked for the matter to be adjourned to December 30 for bail consideration. The State would also be looking into Bulose’s previous convictions, as well as pending matters against him.
Meanwhile, police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker warned against sharing footage of the kidnapping.
“We’ve tried to protect the identities of all involved because there might need to be an identity parade. More and more often now we find this happening as people share CCTV footage on social media.” He said the irresponsible sharing of videos often affected investigations.