Africa-Press – Mozambique. An armed gang today kidnapped a man in Maputo that the local press identifies as the co-owner of one of the main furniture stores in the city, adding to the list of kidnappings of businessmen in the city.
The man was snatched by an armed group at 10:00 a.m. after parking his car at the door of the store on Avenida de Angola, a private security guard who witnessed the kidnapping indicated.
“One [of the kidnappers] came out with an AK47, ran to the door and ordered a security guard and a customer to lie down” on the ground before driving the victim away in a double-cabin cargo vehicle, he told the private television channel STV.
Lusa contacted the Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) of the Mozambican police, but received no clarification.
Maputo and other Mozambican cities, mainly provincial capitals, have since 2020 again been the scene of a wave of kidnappings, mainly targeting businessmen and their family members.
The Attorney General of the Republic, Beatriz Buchili, said in May of this year that “some” police officers, investigators, lawyers and magistrates are suspected of involvement in the kidnappings, adding that crimes have been increasing and suggesting connections with criminal elements in South Africa.
According to the official, victims are blackmailed even after they are released, continuing to pay sums of money to ensure that they are not kidnapped again.
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