Police are in the process of tracing further suspects believed to be part of a kidnapping syndicate, after the arrest of a 39-year-old man in Turffontein, Johannesburg.

That is according to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe who in a statement confirmed that Roodepoort businessman Mark Ramos (49), who was kidnapped outside his workplace in Florida last week, has been rescued.

According to her statement, released just after noon today, the police’s anti-kidnapping task team and other law enforcement agencies and private security companies, worked around the clock to find Ramos safe and unharmed.

Seven men, who pulled into a parking area in two Mercedes-Benzes, accosted Ramos, the owner of Bulk Pack Meats, outside his place of work at about 06:00 last Monday.

Mathe says they managed to successfully trace Ramos to a home in Snake Park, Soweto, where he was held captive by his kidnappers until last night.

Arrest made, more sought

“On the same evening, members also arrested one of his captors in Turffontein, Johannesburg. The 39-year-old suspect is believed to belong to a syndicate that is responsible for at least four other kidnappings of businessmen in the Johannesburg district,” the statement reads.

More suspects are being traced, she adds.

The Roodepoort Record has seen an internal report that states two of the other kidnappings also occurred in the Roodepoort area, one in 2023, and another in May.

Mathe says that no ransom payment was made as ‘a direct result of the expertise and capabilities of SAPS detectives, the Crime Intelligence Unit and collaboration with private security’.