Soweto Woman, 23, Arrested for Scheming Own Kidnapping To Extort R200k From Father, Sister And Lover

• Another woman has been arrested with an accomplice for staging a faking plot to extort money from family
• After allegedly plotting with her accomplice, the man pretended to be her captor and falsely contacted them
• The pair, having tried to solicit R200,000, were tracked to a house in Moroka, Soweto, and arrested on 30 January

SOWETO — Police arrested yet another woman for staging a fake kidnapping to allegedly try to extort money from her loved ones.

The 23-year-old and an accomplice were tracked down at a Moroka house in Soweto, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 30 January 2025.

Cover blown on fake kidnapping scheme

This is after she allegedly orchestrated an elaborate hoax — in which her male accomplice, under the pretext of being a kidnapper, contacted members of her distraught, unsuspecting family with a ransom demand.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, in a statement posted to X, indicated that the pair attempted to get about R200,000.

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"This was made to her father, sister and boyfriend [after] reports she was kidnapped in Randburg on Thursday, 23 January. Her family subsequently received the ransom demand," said Mathe.

The police's Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Gauteng Provincial Investigation Unit (PIU), Johannesburg Flying Squad, Crime Intelligence, Randburg detectives, and private security operationalised intelligence and determined their location.

"The team traced her and her alleged kidnapper to a house in Moroka. A further investigation revealed that the kidnapping had been staged by the woman and her [male accomplice]," said Mathe.

The woman faces a charge of defeating the ends of justice.

As fake kidnapping reports become more common, an East London woman found herself in hot water for staging an elaborate hoax to extort money from her family and boyfriend.

The Hawks' Kidnapping Task Team arrested her one day before the Soweto woman, on Wednesday, 29 January, and determined she had been working with a male accomplice, who has since been on the run.

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Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Avele Fumba said her distressed lover first reported her kidnapping on Sunday, 13 October 2024.

"He [the boyfriend] allegedly received disturbing images and videos of her [appearing to be] tied up, with her mouth sealed shut with tape. A ransom demand then followed."

"He reportedly contacted the victim's sister, who confirmed receiving the same disturbing message [about the alleged kidnapping] from [an unknown] number."

Source: Briefly News