Elderly kidnap victim gets one over abductors
An elderly man was allegedly kidnapped by three suspected fraudsters.
Corlia Kruger
A brave elderly man got the better of his kidnappers when he got them arrested on Tuesday in Wonderpark.
The unidentified man had been brought into the bank by his kidnappers to withdraw all his savings and give it to them.
However, the man alerted the bank cashier that he had been abducted and that one of his abductors, a woman, was inside the bank keeping an eye on him to ensure he complied.
The cashier called Volsec Wonderpark security who alerted local police forum, Amandasig Action Group (AAG).
Erich Landsberg, manager of AAG, said the man was visibly shaken and appeared frightened.
Landsberg said Volsec was called to the scene to confront the woman’s accomplices — a man and a woman — in their getaway car, a white Volkswagen Polo.
“But they have fled the scene, so members of AAG were quickly mobilised to cordon off the area.”
Landsberg said after stopping the car, he became convinced that they had the wrong man. He said the man just looked decent.
“The driver was very co-operative, and by the way he was dressed and talked I thought we had stopped the wrong car,” Landsberg said.
“But when the victim arrived with the woman accomplice from the bank, his whole attitude changed and he started to swear at me.”
Landsberg said the three appeared to be part of a syndicate of fraudsters.
When their car was searched, they found what appeared to be a letter confirming that the Department of Labour had paid the suspects a huge amount. There were also documents from several departments, as well as SA social security agency cards.
“It all looked like part of a fraudulent organisation,” Landsberg said.
Landsberg thanked Akasia police for their swift response on the scene and also thanked Volsec Wonderpark, Maximum Security and all AAG members involved in catching the kidnappers.
Akasia police spokesperson Captain Riana van Aarde did not have any more information, but confirmed the police were investigating.
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