Kidnapped Brits teens: Police officer among 6 in court
Six men, including a police officer of Letlhabile, are expected to apply for bail when they next appear in the local magistrate's court.
A police officer and his five alleged accomplices again appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court on Monday and Tuesday for the kidnapping of two Brits teenagers.
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone, Sergeant Thuloane Makume (47) of the Letlhabile Police Detectives Unit, Humphrey Martin (48), Nathaniel Mokwena (41), Sendry Phage (58), Virgilo Hlongwane (33), Nkanyiso Hadebe (25) and Boitumelo Bogatsu (44) stand accused of kidnapping and extortion.
They were all remanded in custody until next Tuesday for a formal bail application.
“Meanwhile, the team arrested a 50-year-old man on April 9, in Brits. According to information, the suspect is the owner of the house where the victims were kept. This brings a number of arrested suspects to eight. The suspect is expected to appear before the Brits Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.”
His court outcome is not yet known.
The kidnapping
Zahraa Mohammed (17) and Bataviya Mohammed (19) were on March 6 kidnapped by armed men in front of a primary school in Brits.
Police found the teenagers and their kidnappers in Klipgat near Mabopane on March 25 – 20 days after their kidnapping. They were unharmed.
The police initially arrested six suspects. Mokgwabone says two of those suspects have been released after they were cleared during police interviews.
On March 26, two more people, including the police officer, were arrested.
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