A 20-year-old man and his accomplice (24) were arrested on Saturday for faking a kidnapping and demanding R7 000 in ransom from his family.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the man left his home in Lusaka, Dennilton on Friday to go to school which is 3km from his home.

When he didn’t return home as usual, his mother worried and informed his father who said he had received several messages from his son’s number indicating to call him but there was no answer.

“The couple then inquired about their son’s whereabouts from his classmates who confirmed that he didn’t attend class and that they never saw him. Later that evening, 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,” Mojapelo’s statement read.

The matter was reported to the police and a case of kidnapping was opened.

“Immediate action was taken by deploying a special team that included SAPS hostage negotiators for thorough investigation and possible arrest of the culprits. Investigation revealed that the victim was in Tafelkop under the Motetema policing area,” Mojapelo said.

The team inquired at various homesteads in Tafelkop and the supposed suspect arrived at the scene and he led the team to where the ‘victim’ was.

“The duo were taken for questioning and were arrested after they confessed to conspiring and faking the kidnapping in order to get the money from the family.”

The provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe had strongly condemned the incident.

“We receive reports of kidnapping and are obliged to act immediately by mobilizing 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,” she said.

The duo appeared before the Mdutjana Magistrate’s Court in Siyabuswa on Monday on a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and utterly.