
Maputo, 3 Feb (AIM) – Unidentified criminals on Saturday afternoon kidnapped yet another businessman of Asian origin in central Maputo.
The 52-year-old businessman, who has not yet been named, was kidnapped on Karl Marx Avenue, while he was leaving a shop. The kidnappers escaped in a Nissan Elgrand-type car, inside which were three hooded people.
According to eyewitnesses, the criminals parked their car in front of the Bazar Central, which is a crockery shop. They lunched nearby and changed their clothes shortly before the kidnapping.
“People in the neighborhood tried to help the victim, but the kidnappers fired shots into the air to deter any attempts to do so”, a witness said.
As they fled, the kidnappers drove along Ahmed Sékou Touré Avenue. People threw stones at the getaway vehicle, but they did not stop the criminals.
According to Police spokesperson Marta Pereira, the authorities “are working to locate and rescue the victim and we would like to appeal to any citizen who has any information to collaborate”.
Pereira added that the victim is not the owner of Bazar Central as had been rumored to the media by various sources on the ground.
According to the Confederation of Business Associations (CTA) over 100 businesspeople, most of them of Asian origin, have already left the country as a result of insecurity caused by the wave of kidnappings in Mozambican cities, since the first case was reported 12 years ago.
The Strategic Analysis Report (RAE), which was published last year by the Mozambican Financial Intelligence Office (GIFiM), said the kidnappings plaguing Mozambican cities have generated, since 2014, over 33 million dollars in money laundering.
(AIM)
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