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A senior Lenasia Community Policing Forum (CPF) member is expected to appear in the Lenasia Magistrates court on Wednesday.
The 47-year-old man was arrested on Monday night, together with his 23-year-old daughter and 31-year-old son-in-law.
The trio are also allegedly linked to kidnapping kingpin Faizal Charloos, the Mozambican businessman who was arrested by police on Friday along with five other suspects, including his wife, Sadiya.
During the police raids on houses in Lenasia, Lawley, Brackenhurst, and Benoni, which are allegedly linked to Charloos and three of his alleged accomplices, police rescued kidnapped Gauteng businessman, 34-year-old Luqman Kazi.
Charloos and his co-accused appeared in the Protea Magistrates Court on Monday, where the case was postponed to the 5th of April for a formal bail application.
A total of nine suspects have now been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and ransom cases.
During the arrest of the CPF member on Monday, police seized a large sum of cash, approximately R395,000 believed to be ransom money at his house collected from the families of victims.
Officers also confiscated illegal ammunition, while his son-in-law was also found in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Netshiunda told The Citizen, the trio were handcuffed by a multi-disciplinary team comprising of the Anti-Kidnapping task team, Crime Intelligence, Gauteng Provincial Organised Crime Unit, and other private and law enforcement authorities, in connection with the spate of kidnapping cases in Lenasia.
“The team was conducting follow-up operations when the 31 year old man was arrested in Lenasia South after he was found in possession of Kia Rio which was reported stolen in Vanderbijlpark in July 2021. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was allegedly involved in kidnapping and that his task was to collect ransom monies on behalf of suspects who have already been arrested for the kidnapping of Mr Yasin Bhiku.”
“The wife was nabbed for being in possession of R395 000 which was believed to be ransom money collected from the families of victims, whereas the father-in-law was arrested for possession of illegal ammunition as well as the negligent handling of a firearm,” Netshiunda said.
According to reports from community members, the arrested CPF member is allegedly instrumental in the radio communication setup between patrollers in the area and is also Charloos’ neighbour in Lenasia Ext 11.
Charloos’ wife Saadia was also reported to have been frequently seen in the area patrolling with CPF members.
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