Seven people including a police detective were arrested on Saturday night on charges of kidnapping, corruption and theft of motor vehicles.
Captain Paul Ramaloko, spokesperson for the Hawks, said that three Pakistani men were kidnapped on Saturday afternoon. Their kidnappers demanded R25 000 per person.
“The family contacted us and informed us about the situation. We then started to trace the information we received,” he said.
The Hawks came in contact with the alleged kidnappers and started to negotiate the release of the three men.
They followed up on information which led them to the location of three alleged kidnappers, in Pretoria Central late Saturday afternoon. The three alleged kidnappers were arrested on the scene.
“Two other men later approached the Hawks stating that they were the lawyers of the three alleged kidnappers. They then tried to bribe the officers with R6 000 to release the arrested men,” Ramaloko said.
The Hawks arrested the two men for bribery.
When police ran the two men, who posed as the the kidnappers’s lawyers, prints through the system they discovered that one man was a detective from Pretoria Central police station.
During their preliminary investigation the Hawks spotted a suspicious vehicle roaming the area.
“We ran the number plates and it was positively identified as a stolen vehicle. We believe that the suspects are possibly connected with the kidnappers,” he said.
He said a total of three stolen vehicles were found during their operation.
The three men that were kidnapped have been reunited with their families.
The seven arrested men will appear in court on Monday morning.
