Indian communities in KwaZulu-Natal are being targeted by criminals who are kidnapping businessmen and ordinary citizens, and holding them for ransom starting from R5 000.
Several cases of Indian foreign national businessmen being targeted by syndicates, demanding protection fees in exchange for their safety, have also been reported in recent months.
Prem Balram, of Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa), said in the last three months, more than 20 cases of kidnapping - of which several are Indian - had been reported in the province.
“Initially, local and foreign businessmen were being targeted. But we are now seeing a trend, where ordinary people are also being kidnapped and held for ransom,” said Balram.
“We find that criminals are hijacking their victims and holding them hostage for days. They use the victim’s banking apps to transfer money. The kidnappers also contact the victim’s family demanding cash. Criminals are also getting tip-offs on clients, who have large amounts of money in their bank accounts. The victims are being followed and kidnapped. It is becoming a huge problem,” he said.
A Verulam woman was held at gunpoint and taken from the CBD as she was about to board a taxi to work. She was allegedly taken to a house in Ottawa where she was assaulted.
Her kidnappers demanded the R2 million ‘inheritance’ she had been paid out. Hers was, unfortunately, a case of mistaken identity.
The woman, 43, said she was walking towards the taxi when she felt something press against her back.
“It was a gun. I just froze as I heard the words ‘do not scream or else I will shoot’.”
She was ordered to get into a car and keep her head down.
“I remember seeing a woman in the back seat of the car and then I felt a cloth being placed over my mouth and nose. I passed out. When I woke up, I was lying on a cemented floor in a cold dark room. There was a strong smell of urine,” she said.
The woman said the kidnappers had taken her phone away.
“When they saw that I was conscious, they began demanding R2 million from me. I told them I did not have any money. They started punching and kicking me. A gun was shoved in my mouth. They demanded the pin to my phone and the passwords to my banking app, which I provided. They saw I did not have that much money. But the assault continued.”
The woman said she realised they had the wrong person when they asked that she call her son for the money.
“I have no children. I told them this. They eventually left me alone. I spent the night in that room and the next morning, they blindfolded me and tied my hands. I was taken to the car. We drove for a while and suddenly they pushed me out of the moving vehicle.”
She said a resident helped her by taking off the blind fold and untying her hands.
“When I looked around, I realised that I was in Ottawa. I contacted my family, who had already been looking for me. We later found out that the kidnappers were actually looking for another woman who was paid out an inheritance. She and I have the same name and we live in the same area.”
Smothered
In another incident, a man from Verulam was driving down Neptune Drive in Mount Vernon when he was kidnapped by suspects and held for several hours in Ntuzuma.
The 34-year-old victim was approached by two armed suspects.
Balram said: “One of the suspects got into the back seat of the victim’s car and ordered him to follow the car in front. They threatened to shoot him if he did not comply.”
Balram said the victim was made to drive to Ntuzuma where he was held for several hours in a wood and iron house.
“Here, the suspects repeatedly assaulted him. The victim tried to fight back but he was smothered with a pillow, which resulted in him losing consciousness. When he regained consciousness, the suspects demanded the password to his cellphone and banking apps. They told him that they needed R5 000 in exchange for his safe release.”
Balram said the suspects continued assaulting him and his cries eventually got the attention of other tenants on the property.
“They banged on the door demanding to know what the commotion was about. The suspects opened the door and fled. Residents flagged down a passing SAPS vehicle and alerted police to the victim in the house,” added Balram.
He said he was taken to hospital for treatment.
According to the SAPS crime statistics, KZN recorded 3 641 cases in the first quarter of 2023/2024, the second highest in the country. Gauteng reported the highest number of cases.
Protection money
Last week, a syndicate which allegedly extorted protection fees from Indian foreign national businessmen, was arrested in a sting operation in the Eastern Cape by police and a local security company.
Anele Mhlaba, 34, Volibi Lwazi, 32, and Makwethu Sihle, 34, appeared in the Stutterhiem Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of extortion.
Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, a spokesperson for the Hawks in the Eastern Cape, said the accused were arrested by the Provincial Kidnapping Task Team of the Hawks.
The matter was remanded to next week for a bail application.
Shaheen Sulieman, the owner of Magma Security, said over the last few months Pakistani and Bangladeshi businessmen, who run shops in the Ngcobo East London, Confimvaba, Dordrecht, Queenstown and Cathcart, had been charged protection fees in exchange for their safety.
“This fee is so they would not be kidnapped. The businessmen run supermarkets and hardware stores in the area. We received information that the syndicate was extorting between R5 000 to R15 000 a month from the businessmen. If they did not pay up, they would be kidnapped and held for ransom,” said Suleiman.
He said last Wednesday, members from his security company received information of an extortion that was to take place in the Cathcart area. Suleiman said they mobilised and the suspects were arrested, and the extortion money was recovered.
He said this trend had started in KZN but was stopped through police investigations.
Mohammed Momilua Hoque, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Parishad Organisation of South Africa, said their nationals were living in fear.
“Many of our nationals came to South Africa in search of a better life. They have started businesses in many areas around the country and the money they make is sent home to help their families.
"South Africa is a beautiful country but it is being ruined by crime. Our nationals are scared of being kidnapped and killed. They are soft-hearted people and not violent. This is making them easy targets.”
He said they have had several cases of kidnappings and in some incidents, the victims were killed.
“We are thankful to the police for arresting the suspects and to the courts for ensuring they are prosecuted for their crimes.”