Police arrested a Mozambican man – suspected to be the kingpin in various kidnapping cases – in Centurion over the weekend.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said a team led by members of the trilateral planning cell (TPC) and Interpol led to the successful arrest of Esmael Malude Ramos Nangy (50).

“The TPC is a structure which was established and is led by the ministers responsible for policing in South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania to counter transnational organised crime in the region,” Mathe says.

She adds that the team was acting on an international warrant of arrest that the Mozambican government issued for Nangy late last year.

According to Mathe, police seized a 9mm licensed firearm, 14 9mm cartridges, five cellphones, multiple South African bank cards as well as multiple local and Mozambican Sim cards.

Mathe says he has been identified as the mastermind behind multiple cases of kidnapping in South Africa and Mozambique since 2018.

He was expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court today for the commencement of the extradition processes.

According to Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, the number of kidnappings for ransom and extortion cases has increased in South Africa.