The shack where a Chinese businesswoman was rescued after being kidnapped in what police believe to be a notorious syndicate operating between Durban and Port Shepstone.
POLICE confirmed the arrest of eight suspects accused of allegedly kidnapping a Kokstad Chinese businesswoman and demanding a hefty R15 million ransom. Metro Police Spokesperson Colonel Boysie Zungu said of the eight suspects arrested, two were women who were captured on video withdrawing the ransom from a bank in the Durban Central Business District. One of the females was apprehended as she attempted to fl ee to another province. “Two males were also arrested, a South African and Zimbabwean, in the Pinetown Paradise Valley area.
These suspects were involved in coordinating the syndicate’s operations,” said Zungu. He said the three kingpins of the operation were arrested in Port Shepstone and have been identifi ed as the alleged organisers of the kidnapping. “A guard was also apprehended at an informal settlement in Port Shepstone. This suspect was allegedly responsible for guarding the victim who was found disoriented but physically unharmed in a shack. She was immediately taken to a hospital for medical evaluation,” Zungu said. He said the Chinese businesswoman was accosted by the group as she was closing her bottle store in Kokstad.
The kidnappers, a syndicate operating between Durban and Port Shepstone, held the victim hostage and initially demanded a ransom of R15 million from her family. “The ransom was reduced to R305 000, which the victim’s family paid into a designated bank account. However, once the ransom was paid, the suspects demanded an additional R1.2 million. At this point, negotiations had reached a stalemate and a decision to form a rescue operation was made,” said Zungu.