Cape Town: Police in Cape Town are investigating a kidnapping case after a businessman was snatched in front of his business on Wednesday.
Men armed with rifles exited an Audi Q7 and kidnapped Ismail Rajah, 63, the owner of the owner of Good Hope Construction, in front of his business in Joubert Street in Parow at 11am.
They forced him into their vehicle and drove in the direction of De La Rey Road.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk said detectives attached to the Organised Crime division had been tasked with investigating the matter.
On Thursday, Van Wyk said: “Be advised that the matter you are referring to is still under investigation. The victim has not been found yet.”
Rajah is but one of many businessmen who have been kidnapped in the country in the past three years. South Africa has seen a significant increase in these types of crimes.
Speaking to IOL on Thursday, Anti-Crime Activist Yusuf Abramjee said the increase in kidnappings across the country had become a concern.
“These kidnappings are not stopping and it’s a real worry. While some arrests have been made in Gauteng for some cases, it seems a number of gangs are at work.
“We have smaller ‘copycat’ gangs and bigger organised syndicates,” he said.
Abramjee said the kidnappings had become a national operation for gangs.
“The latest case again shows that some of the gangs operate nationally and it appears they pick their targets.
“The police’s kidnapping task team has made some good progress recently and I hope that they will also crack the Rajah case,” Abramjee said.
Police arrested two suspects for the alleged kidnapping of a Durban businessman who was snatched from his business premises in Reservoir Hills on Friday, March 4, 2022. They also allegedly too cash from the premises.
IOL previously reported that the man’s worried wife contacted him after he did not return home by 10.30pm. However, the phone was taken from him and the suspects demanded a R1 million ransom for his release.
Following up on information led police to a house in KwaDindi in Taylors Halt, Pietermaritzburg where the victim was being held.
Two suspects, aged 27 and 32, were arrested and found to be in possession of two firearms as well as ammunition.
Police also reported that while being held captive, the suspects withdrew cash from the victim’s credit card.
In January, a 25-year-old Bangladeshi was snatched from outside his store in Kalksteenfontein near Bishop Lavis in Cape Town.
The businessman’s family paid R100 000 ransom for his release. However, his alleged kidnappers wanted more money.
Police arrested four suspects and returned the man home to his family within 48-hours of his kidnapping.
Ransom demands have also increased and, at times, kidnappers have gone as far as wanting the ransom paid in Bitcoin.
The desire for being paid in Bitcoin has become a new method of payment for criminals across the world.
Crime expert, Eldred De Klerk, a policing specialist who focuses on national security and police institutions, told IOL that cryptocurrencies were one of the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for governments and its security agencies, which would escalate the need for governments to work together on the level of policy and the economy.
“Cryptocurrencies are the great leveller, so it might be a while yet before we see a Panama Papers series on Bitcoin. Unlike the conventional tax shelters, cryptocurrency is more readily available to anyone and everyone.
“Governments have to consider their monetary and financial trading policies in an effort to mitigate the risks associated with cryptocurrencies and its use by criminals and criminal organisations,” De Klerk said.
IOL