Hawks Arrest 7 Men for R11.5m Kidnapping of Pietermaritzburg 17-Year-Old, Grateful Teen Reunited With Family

• The Hawks in Pietermaritzburg have rounded up seven men allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of a 17-year-old boy
• The teen was kidnapped on 24 May by men who had disguised themselves as police officers
• The Hawks first arrested two suspected criminals on 25 May, followed by five more when the teen was rescued

PIETERMARITZBURG - The Hawks are being praised for successfully arresting seven men involved in the kidnapping of a 17-year-old boy from Pietermaritzburg.

After 12 days at the mercy of his captures, the teen was rescued and reunited with his family after a joint operation between the Hawks, crime intelligence, the special task force and private security companies on Monday, 5 June.

Pietermaritzburg teenager kidnapped by fake police officers

The authorities rounded up seven criminals aged between 25 and 41 who reportedly demanded R 11.5 million from the teen's family, SABC News reported.

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The matric student was kidnapped on Wednesday, 24 May, when the kidnappers disguised themselves as police officers and pulled him over on Brixham Road in Raisethorpe, TimesLIVE reported.

Hawks arrest 2 suspects at Brookside Mall, 5 more kidnappers nabbed in 2nd arrest

The Hawks made its first arrests on Thursday, 25 May when two suspects were tracked down to Brookside Mall. The vehicle that was used in the kidnapping was also recovered.

On Monday, the Hawks rounded up five more suspected kidnappers, bringing the men apprehended up to seven.

The first two suspected kidnappers briefly appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistarte's Court and were remanded in custody pending bail applications on 13 June.

The five men are expected to appear in court on Wednesday, 7 June.

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Durban woman who faked her kidnapping to extort money from husband granted bail, SA stunned: “Divorce her”

In another story, Briefly News reported that the woman who staged her kidnapping to extort ransom money from her husband appeared in the Magistrate's Court in Durban.

The court granted the 47-year-old R3 000 bail after she was charged with perjury, reported TimeLIVE.

Firoza Bee Bee Joseph's abduction was reported on Monday, 3, and the police were informed that she was taken at Clay Field Drive in Phoenix while she was heading home.

Source: Briefly News