A brother and sister holidaying in Durban are recovering after being kidnapped on the Berea while returning from a New Year's Eve party.
According to Lieutenant PN Naidoo, Berea police communications officer, the brother and sister who live in Umkomaas on the South Coast went to a New Year's Eve party at The Pavilion and after midnight took a cab to meet up with friends near Botanic Gardens. “They got to Botanic Gardens and before their friends could get to them, suspects in a Grey Hyundai Tucson held them up at gunpoint and took them in the vehicle,” explained Naidoo.
The siblings, both in their early twenties were traumatised as the suspects took their phones, wallets and personal belongings before driving for hours to various drug and liquor outlets around Overport and Sydenham, including a popular tavern in Sydenham. Naidoo said the men used the victims cellphones to meet up with friends at the different spots and used their money to purchase alcohol and drugs before they eventually dropped them off in Avondale Road.
“A holidaymaker from Johannesburg noticed the terrified brother and sister and assisted them with taxi fare to the police station where they arrived in a state of shock,” said Naidoo.
Warrant Officer PT Naicker and Captain Thomas Naidoo assisted the victims to open a case. “The officers visited the various spots and followed up on leads and video footage before the investigation led to the arrest of the two suspects the next day. A wallet was recovered in McGregor Place, Sydenham while one of the iPhones was recovered from a Nigerian national who had purchased it for R400, also the following day,” said Naidoo.
One of the suspects, believed to be the owner of the vehicle is a Pakistani national, while the other is a man from Sydenham. They have both appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and armed robbery. The Pakistani national is out on R2000 bail while the Sydenham man has been remanded in custody at Westville Prison.
