A Pretoria man who was rescued from kidnappers by police in Beyers Park last month is a victim in another kidnapping and assault case currently ongoing in Boksburg Magistrate’s Court.
In this matter, three suspects are facing charges of kidnapping, armed robbery, assault GBH, fraud and theft for allegedly holding the man hostage at a business in Rietfontein Road in April, assaulting him and transferring money from his bank account.
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According to Boksburg North Police spokesperson Const Justice Ramaube, the suspects phoned the victim about something related to Bitcoin and he was picked him up at a garage in Pretoria.
“They then drove to a business in Rietfontein Road and held the man hostage while assaulting him. Money and Bitcoins were transferred from his account into the suspects’ accounts.
“The victim was also reportedly forced to phone his wife and tell her someone was coming to fetch her Toyota Lexus for a service,” he said.
“The car was taken from the house and allegedly fraudulently sold before again being sold to a car dealership in Kempton Park, where it was found by the police.
“The victim said he was dropped off at home after being held hostage for hours and sustaining injuries.
“The three suspects were arrested on May 26 and 27 and each of them was granted R5 000 bail.
“Their recent appearance was on August 4 and their case was postponed to October 31 for further investigation.”
The police are investigating the possibility that the three suspects could be linked to the July kidnapping case.
July 15 incident
The SAPS Highway Patrol unit spotted the vehicle, a grey Vauxhall Zafira, which matched the description of a vehicle involved in a kidnapping that took place in Pretoria earlier that day, driving along Williams Road in Boksburg.
Officers approached the suspicious-looking vehicle with five male occupants and they started shooting at police while trying to speed off.
Police gave chase and returned fire, which hit the left rear tyre of the suspects’ vehicle, forcing it to come to a halt along the road.
The four suspects exited the vehicle and started to run away on foot in different directions, abandoning their vehicle.
The remaining occupant was determined to be the kidnapping victim, the same Pretoria man held hostage in Boksburg in April.
One of the suspects shot himself when cornered by police on a property in Tredoux Street, another’s body was found frozen in a body of water in a park in Tredoux Street some days later and two are at large.
Police determined the kidnapping victim had opened a case of armed robbery at Boksburg North Police three months prior and are investigating the suspects in this kidnapping being linked to the one in April.
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