3 Free State SAPS Constables Allegedly Hijacked and Kidnapped, Police Call on Public for Assistance

3 Free State SAPS Constables Allegedly Hijacked and Kidnapped, Police Call on Public for Assistance

  • The South African Police Service have called on the public to assist with information after three police officers were allegedly kidnapped
  • The trio, all constables stationed in Limpopo, were travelling from the Free State to Limpopo when they disappeared
  • The police launched a full-scale search for the constables, who were off-duty when they disappeared

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Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

Three police officers stationed in Limpopo went missing after they were travelling from Bloemfontein to their deployed areas
SAPS is looking for three police officers who were allegedly kidnapped. Images: South African Police Service
Source: Original

FREE STATE — Three South African Police Service (SAPS) officers were allegedly kidnapped while travelling from the Free State to Limpopo. The police opened a case of kidnapping and hijacking after they were last seen on 23 April 2025.

What happened to the police officers?

In a statement, SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said 24 year-old Constable Cebekhulu Linda, 30 year-old Constable Keamogetswe Buys and 20 year-old Constable Boipelo Senoge travelled in a white VW Polo from Bloemfontein to Limpopo, where they were deployed when they went missing.

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They were last seen at the Engen garage near the Grasmere toll plaza on the N1. Their vehicle tracking device and cell phones have been switched off since the day they disappeared. The police have established a 24 hour Venue Operational Centre. They also mobilised resources and launched a full-scale search with the help of crime intelligence operators and detectives from the Free State and Gauteng.

The three police officers who disappeared were last seen in a white VW Polo
Three constables were reportedly kidnapped while driving a VW polo. Image: South African Police Service
Source: Original

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12 arrested for kidnapping Limpopo businessman

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the police arrested 12 suspects in January for kidnapping a businessman in October 2024 from Louis Trichard in Limpopo. A multidisciplinary team effort resulted in the rescue.

The police traced the businessman's location after the kidnappers demanded a R15 million ransom for his release. They initially arrested eight people, but were nowhere near finding the victim.

After they arrested a foreign national on 24 January, he revealed the location of one of the suspects. The suspect was arrested in Mpumalanga, and he led them to the safehouse in Vuwani, where the businessman was located and rescued.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Tebogo Mokwena avatar

Tebogo Mokwena (Current Affairs editor) Tebogo Mokwena is the Deputy Head of the Current Affairs desk and a current affairs writer at Briefly News. With a Diploma in Journalism from ALISON, he has a strong background in digital journalism, having completed training with the Google News Initiative. He began his career as a journalist at Daily Sun, where he worked for four years before becoming a sub-editor and journalist at Capricorn Post. He then joined Vutivi Business News in 2020 before moving to Briefly News in 2023.