The couple kidnapped in Vryheid  by people suspected of having terror links were Cape Town residents holding British passports. Their names have been widely published in the UK press as Rodney and Rachel Saunders who are botanists.

Their Land Cruiser  was found to have been spattered with blood and it is not clear if the couple are still alive.  The kidnapping, at Bivane Dam, prompted the UK government to issue a ‘terror threat warning’ to UK passport holders in or travelling to South Africa,

The move is expected to impact on especially battlefields tourism in this area.

Sayfydeen Aslam Del Vecchio (38) and Fatima Patel (27), are believed to have been camping out in Ballito, on the North Coast, on an  on-and-off basis, are to appear again in the Vryheid Magistrate’s Court on various charges including kidnapping, robbery and arson as they are accused of setting alight several hectares of canefields in 2017 worth R2 million at Tongaat-Hulett plantations.

The Hawks Crimes Against the State Unit, Durban Serious Organised Crime Unit and Durban Crime Intelligence KZN, are investigating.

The Courier understands that police yesterday arrested a 19-year-old suspect linked to the incidents and he is expected to appear in the  Mtunzini Court today.