A member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) appeared alongside two Mozambican nationals for allegedly kidnapping businessman Zakariyya Desai outside a mosque in KwaZulu-Natal.
Police officer, Samkeliso Honest Mlotshwa appeared alongside Esmael Nangy and Stefan Brites in KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to apply for bail.
The trio was arrested in November 2024.
Desai who owns, Desai's Cash & Carry, was taken by force in September 2024 by suspects driving a silver VW Polo after a night prayer. The suspects fired several shots as others tried to stop the kidnapping. Desai has been missing since.
Police said KwaZulu-Natal Hawks have been pursuing leads throughout the country.
Meanwhile, Nangy, a Mozambican national, has been labelled a kidnapping kingpin after he was arrested in January 2023 in Centurion, Gauteng by SA authorities and Interpol following a request for his arrest by the Mozambique government in connection with abduction cases where ransom demands were made in his home country.
During the arrest, he was found in possession of a 9mm licensed firearm, 14.9mm cartridges, five cellphones, multiple bank cards for South African banks as well as multiple SA and Mozambican SIM cards.
When he appeared in the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court, Nangy was denied bail after Mozambican authorities submitted a formal request for his extradition.
It's still unclear whether Nangy was extradited and how he was released.
In another similar matter, a Mozambican national appeared in the Vredendal Magistrate’s Court on Monday in the Western Cape on charges of trafficking in persons and contravention of the Immigration Act.
The alleged human trafficker Moses Sithole, 38, made a brief court appearance after his arrest on December 5, 2024.
The provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks), Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi said a multidisciplinary team conducted the arrest.
“The team comprising of the Hawks' Economic Protected Resources (EPR), Crime Intelligence, Vanrynsdorp South African Police Service (SAPS), and Department of Home Affairs arrested the 38-year-old suspect,” Vukubi said.
This comes after the team received information about a girl being held against her will.
“The team received information about a foreign national who allegedly kept a 17-year-old girl at his residence against her will. The team proceeded to the suspect's residence in Vanrhynsdorp and upon entering the premises they found the victim. Investigation revealed that she was allegedly trafficked from Mozambique to South Africa two years ago. She was taken for a medical examination and thereafter taken to a place of safety,” Vukubi said.
While Sithole was charged during his first appearance, the matter had to be postponed for an interpreter.
The matter was postponed until Wednesday, December 11.
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