Cape Town – Kidnappings continue to rise in the Western Cape and the latest victim is a Bangladeshi national who was abducted in Mitchells Plain.
On Friday, 37-year-old Akter Pradhan was allegedly kidnapped by three unknown men. Mitchell’s Plain police are searching for Pradhan and tracing the suspects involved.
The Bangladeshi community in Cape Town said it was living in fear after several abductions of business owners and close family members, including children, by an unidentified criminal syndicate, the Cape Argus reported.
Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee shared the footage of Pradhan’s abduction on social media.
Police confirmed the incident had occurred in Wespoort Road just before 7pm.
“Three unknown armed males stopped his vehicle, and when the victim got out of his vehicle, the suspects forced him into their vehicle and fled the scene in an undisclosed direction. The unknown suspects are yet to be arrested.
“We can confirm that no shots were fired,” provincial police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said.
“Mitchells Plain police are investigating a case of kidnapping and extortion.”
Pradhan is the owner of Cheaper Chips Cash & Carry, a wholesale store in Mitchells Plain.
On Wednesday, police said there had been no new developments in the case and the investigation was continuing.
Speaking to IOL, Abramjee said the kidnapping of Bangladeshi nationals in South Africa is not a new thing, in fact, it was happening weekly in Gauteng.
“As for the modus operandi, such as in the video, these gangs are brazen, daring, and do not care. I don’t think this is an international syndicate, these are smaller syndicates, copycat syndicates trying to make a quick buck, hence the smaller ransom demands,” Abramjee said.
He said there had been a dramatic increase in kidnappings involving foreign nationals in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
He said these gangs were going for soft targets.
“Look at the kidnapping of the young boy, they demanded a small ransom. Normal syndicates keep you for months and demand big money to be placed into other/international bank accounts,” Abramjee told IOL.
On August 17, 6-year-old Shahnawaz Asghar was snatched in front of his 9th Street home in Kensington, Cape Town, before 8am.
At the time police were looking for six men. To date, there have been no developments in this case.
Shahnawaz returned home the following evening.
A ransom demand was made, however, neither the police nor the family would divulge if a ransom was paid.
Police continue to investigate several kidnappings in Cape Town in which prominent business owners or their families were victims.
Among them were Ismail Rajah and Shireen Essop.
“As in Gauteng, members of their own communities are a part of the syndicates. This could be happening in Cape Town,” he said.
Abramjee said that although several arrests had been made, the suspects were granted bail and then hit the streets again.
Recently released crime statics revealed that 237 people were kidnapped in the Western Cape from April to June 2022.
Activist Hanif Loonat said one suspect who has been “in and out” of South Africa was arrested, found with two passports and a substantial amount of money but was released.
“Is there police collusion? Is there government collusion? This seems to be exactly what is happening in Mozambique where government officials are working with syndicates to extort money from the wealthy who do not pay their taxes,” he said.
Loonat, who has been involved in fighting crime for more than 27 years, told IOL he had been involved in kidnapping cases for several years and had noticed that people using the Hawala system were increasingly being targeted.
Hawala is an informal funds transfer system that allows for the transfer of funds from one person to another without the actual movement of money. It is a simple process that requires no documentation, thus allowing participants to remain anonymous.
Loonat said the hawala system had been used in South Africa for more than 20 years.
Speaking about Pradhan’s kidnapping, Loonat said the fact that the suspect was dressed in a metro police uniform was a cause for concern.
“I believe in South Africa police are not trained to deal with such crimes.
“It raises concerns on the video of Pradhan’s kidnapping. That man is dressed in a metro police officer’s uniform. His shoes are shining, the blue shirt and pants. It is very concerning.
“What is also more concerning is that the Police Minister (Bheki Cele) is not taking this seriously after he made a statement saying these incidents were ‘self-inflicted for insurance payments’.
“His (Cele’s) utterances are not helping,” Loonat said.
Mitchells Plain councillor Ashley Potts told the “Cape Times” that residents were living in fear.
“The Bangladeshi businessman was another kidnapping that occurred here in Mitchells Plain community. The challenge we are facing is that people are being kidnapped in parking lots.
“We had another incident on Thursday where a coloured male was kidnapped in the parking lot by four gunmen.
“They later released him,” Potts told the publication.
He said residents felt they were sitting ducks.
Police have urged anyone with information on Pradhan’s kidnapping to contact their nearest police station or phone Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL