Four male suspects, including a teenager, were taken into custody on Wednesday night over the kidnapping of a 31-year-old male in Wolseley, 90km north-east of Cape Town.
According to IOL ;Flying Squad and K9 Unit members on patrol in Manenberg late on Wednesday night had first arrested the four Somalians ; aged between 17 and 34 ; for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. The members had spotted a white Toyota Corolla with the four kidnapping suspects driving without backlights in Govan Mbeki Drive.
This prompted them to pull the vehicle over and conduct a search, which led to the discovery of a 9mm pistol and 11 rounds of ammunition.
It was then discovered that the firearm was stolen in Bellville during August in 2017 with further investigation linking the suspects to the kidnapping which was perpetrated the previous evening.
The kidnapping victim, who had allegedly been forcefully removed from his shop at around 8.20pm on Tuesday, was traced to Browns Farm and found unharmed, police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut said on Thursday.
The suspects are expected to make their court appearances in Wolseley once they have been charged. The circumstances surrounding the case are under investigation and the motive for the kidnapping is yet to be determined.
Wolseley, with only around 12 000 residents, is a small town in the upper Breede River Valley region.
More:IOL