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The Directorate for Priority Crime, also known as the Hawks, has arrested a 36-year-old suspect in connection with the kidnapping of two teenagers in Dimbaza, Eastern Cape.
The serious organised crime investigation by the Hawks in East London, in collaboration with the South African Police Service in East London and the Mdantsane Flying Squad, arrested the suspect on Tuesday.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Avele Fumba said preliminary reports reveal that four armed suspects allegedly breached a factory’s perimeter fence and encountered three boys, aged 15 to 17.
“One of the boys was reportedly held at gunpoint and forced to surrender the keys to a Mahindra vehicle, which the suspects used to flee the scene after abducting the other two boys. The vehicle was later found abandoned in a forested area near Nakani.
“A swift disruptive operation led by the Hawks resulted in the arrest of a 36-year-old suspect in Dimbaza. Efforts to locate the remaining suspects are ongoing. The Hawks appeal to community members to come forward with any information that could assist the investigation and their identity will be treated with the utmost confidentiality,” Fumba said.
Fumba said the suspect will appear in the Dimbaza Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
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Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, praised the team’s efforts, emphasising the importance of community safety and the commitment to ensuring justice.
“The safety and well-being of our communities remain a top priority,” said Ngwenya.
Earlier this month, KwaZulu-Natal police arrested a 37-year-old man in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old woman who was kidnapped on Christmas Day and later found dead.
The woman was last seen leaving a restaurant in uMhlanga with a male companion in the early hours of Christmas day.
Police Spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a case of kidnapping was opened after she did not return home.
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