A kidnapped Indian businessman has been reunited with his family after the South African Police Service (SAPS) anti-kidnapping task team rescued him during an operation that also left a notorious Mozambican kidnapping kingpin dead.
The Indian businessman was kidnapped on 23 July 2025 from his business premises in Benoni.
Police traced the businessman to a shack in Alexandra shortly after midnight on Thursday. His safe return followed a shootout near the R21 in Kempton Park on Wednesday evening, where the suspect known as “Dollarman” was fatally wounded.
SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the suspect was a major figure in regional kidnapping syndicates.
“The suspect, who goes by the nickname ‘Dollarman’, is a wanted kidnapping kingpin in both South Africa and Mozambique. He is on SERNIC, which is Mozambique’s wanted persons database, where he was a wanted (person) for several kidnapping for ransom cases,” said Mathe.
“In South Africa, he was also linked to at least five kidnapping-for-ransom cases as well as other crimes, including housebreaking, carjacking, and possession of unlicensed firearms.”
The rescue forms part of SAPS’s sustained crackdown on kidnapping syndicates.
“From July 2021 to date, the SAPS anti-kidnapping task team has arrested more than 337 suspects and seized over 146 illegal firearms at crime scenes linked to these syndicates,” Mathe revealed.
She said the latest operation highlights the determination of police to disrupt organised crime networks operating across borders.
“This case shows that no criminal, regardless of their reputation, is beyond the reach of law enforcement,” Mathe said.
Meanwhile, Operation Shanela – a nationwide police crime blitz – continues to yield results.
“In the past week alone, police have arrested more than 14,773 suspects for crimes ranging from murder to rape, and at least 163 illegal firearms have been seized,” Mathe said.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News
