Mozambican kidnapping mastermind killed in Johannesburg

Maputo, 21 Jun (AIM) – A Mozambican suspected of leading a kidnap gang was killed in a shootout with police in the Fourways neighbourhood of Johannesburg.

Cited by the South African outlet “News 24” on Saturday, police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team had been following leads on the kidnapping of a Pakistani citizen who is still in the hands of the kidnap gang.

The Pakistani businessman (who was not named in the report) is a wholesale supplier to hundreds of shops in the South African province of Gauteng. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 27 million rands (about 1.5 million dollars) from his family.

The police traced the kidnappers to a residential complex in Midrand, where they arrested two suspects and seized two vehicles (a Mercedes Benz and a Pajero). The chase continued to Fourways where the police shot dead the man they believed to be leader of the gang, a Mozambican named as Mauro Mucambe Junior.

“One suspect was fatally wounded and it was later confirmed that the deceased was 40 year old Mauro Mucambe Junior, a wanted kidnapping mastermind in Mozambique”, said Mathe. “A warrant for his arrest was issued in Maputo in August 2024”.

During the operation, the police recovered an unlicensed firearm with ten rounds of ammunition, four cell phones and four bank cards.

“Police have full faith and confidence in the work of the anti-kidnapping task team to rescue the kidnapped businessman,” Mathe said.

The police say they have made over 170 ransom-related arrests since January last year. “More than 1.2 million rands have been recovered. More than 100 victims were rescued, mainly in Gauteng and more than 40 vehicles used in kidnapping crimes were also seized by the team,” the police confirmed.
(AIM)
Pf/ (298)