Africa-Press – South-Africa. A 20-year-old schoolboy has been arrested for allegedly faking his own kidnapping and demanding a R7 000 ransom from his family.
The man was arrested on Saturday by Limpopo police alongside his 24-year-old friend, who allegedly conspired with him to fake the kidnapping.
The two will appear in the Mdutjana Magistrate’s Court in Siyabuswa on Monday, facing a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and uttery.
The alleged kidnapping led the unsuspecting parents of the 20-year-old to open a case of kidnapping and the police launching a massive search.
In a statement on Sunday, Limpopo police said they had deployed a special team which included a hostage negotiator for a thorough investigation and possible arrest of the culprits.
They added investigations revealed the victim was in Tafelkop in the Motetema policing area.
The police said the team visited various homesteads in Tafelkop and one of them arrived at the scene and led the team to where the victim was.
“The victim was taken along with his 24-year-old accomplice for questioning. The duo was arrested after they confessed to have conspired and faked the kidnapping in order to get money from the family,” they added in a statement.
Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe condemned the incident.
“We are at times receiving reports of kidnapping and are obliged to act immediately by mobilising resources as the safety of victims could be at stake.
“False reports put a lot of strain on police resources which could have been directed to deal with real incidents of crime and to victims who desperately needed police assistance,” said Hadebe.
The pupil had left his home in Lusaka, Dennilton, on Friday at about 07:00 to attend school, which is about three kilometres from his home.
His mother became worried when he did not return home as usual and informed her husband when he returned from work.
The police said her husband said he received several messages from his son’s number indicating he must call him but when he called back, he did not answer.
The couple then enquired about their son’s whereabouts from his classmates who confirmed he did not attend classes on Friday.
Later in the evening at about 20:15, an unknown person called the family using the supposed victim’s number and demanded R7 000, threatening to kill the victim if they failed to comply.
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