Maputo, 3 Oct (AIM) – The South African Police, in coordination with Interpol, is on the track of an unspecified number of assailants, believed to be Mozambicans, involved in the kidnapping of three people in Mpumalanga province, on 24 September.
Last week, members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), working with the South African Police Service (SAPS), rescued seven kidnapped family members before their vehicle could be smuggled into Mozambique.
According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, the Police is convinced that the suspects could be foreign nationals from Mozambique, and work is being carried out in coordination with Interpol to ensure that none of them escape.
“A report by the police indicates that three suspects, armed with pangas, entered the farm and then pounced on workers and held the trio hostage. Another employee could have been the fourth one but he was fortunate enough to be hiding underneath a tractor,” he said.
According to a report by the South African outlet IOL News, it is alleged that the assailants then forcefully took the three employees into the bushes and held them under duress.
A team of experts, Mohlala said, was immediately established to probe the matter under the leadership of the provincial commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela.
The team included several units of the SAPS including the Tactical Response Team, K9 unit, detectives from Komatipoort SAPS, the crime intelligence unit, hostage negotiators, as well as officials from the department of health.
“All the victims were fortunately freed by their captors although these kidnappers are still at large. The team is working around the clock to ensure that these perpetrators are soon brought to book,” said Mohlala, adding that “preliminary investigation by the police indicates that the victims were subjected to gross human rights violations during their ordeal.”
(AIM)
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