Johannesburg - Police believe they have made a breakthrough after arresting three men suspected of kidnapping and robbing business people while en route to their destinations from OR Tambo International Airport.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said on Sunday that although he didn’t have the exact number, there had been several cases recently where business people who were visiting South Africa were stopped immediately after they left the airport or were followed to their destinations.
“Police believe this is done by an organised gang, and the arrested suspects are being profiled to establish if they are linked to such cases."
Dlamini said three men were arrested on Thursday night after kidnapping and robbing an Ethiopian businessman.
“They had already fraudulently spent more than R25 000 while the businessman was blindfolded and tied up at a house in Kensington."
“He was kidnapped from OR Tambo International Airport,” he said.
Asked how police had caught the men, Dlamini said members of the Provincial Investigation Unit had been alerted to the gang, who were demanding a ransom from the businessman's family.
“At the same time they were also fraudulently using his bank card to buy luxuries, including jewellery."
Dlamini said the victim was fetched from OR Tambo Airport to conclude what he thought was a business deal.
“He was taken by a bogus businessman to a house in Kensington, where he was robbed. His family had suspicions that something might have gone wrong, and contacted the police,” he said.
In a matter of hours the three men were taken into custody and the businessman, “who appeared to have suffered at the hands of his kidnappers”, was rescued.
The men have been charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and fraud and are expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court today.