Suspected kidnapper arrested in Chimoio while trying to withdraw money from bank – Mozambique

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Suspected kidnapper arrested in Chimoio while trying to withdraw money from bank – Mozambique

10:28 CAT | 23 Nov 2016

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When nine-year-old Saneshe, grandson of the owner of the Motichande Dulobo retail chain, was kidnapped in May of this year in Beira’s Ponta-Gêa neighbourhood, a six million meticais ransom was paid.

Now, an individual thought to be involved in the boy’s abduction has fallen into the hands of the police in the city of Chimoio, Manica province, after arriving there from Maputo.

Jeremias Muianga is currently incarcerated in the PRM’s 1st Police Station in Beira, and was taken into custody in Chimoio on the 4th of this month while attempting to withdraw 63,995 meticais, thought to be part of the six million meticais ransom paid by the victim’s family, from a banking establishment.

The account had been blocked after it was used by the kidnappers to transfer a portion of the amount that the Saneshe family deposited for the boy’s release.

Of the six million meticais paid for the release of the child, Jeremias Muianga got 500,000 meticais, which was deposited in an account in his name, Sofala police provincial command spokesman Daniel Macuácua told reporters.

Macuácua said that after the abduction, the gang left Beira for Maputo, where they demanded the six million meticais ransom, while the victim remained in the custody of other accomplices until the banking operation should be confirmed.

“As part of the investigation that the police have been carrying out since the kidnapping, it was possible to detain this person, who left Maputo for Chimoio with the purpose of withdrawing the remainder of the money from his blocked account. After being detained, he was transferred to Beira, where his arrest will be legalised,” the PRM spokesman said.

Muianga’s arrest brings the number detained in connection with the abduction to four. Three others were captured in Maputo on May 25, a Kenyan national among them. All three were transferred to Beira, where they await trial. Another four hijackers are still at large.

The Sofala Provincial Attorney’s Office has opened a case with the preparatory inquiry process number 1613/PIC/2016.

Detainee denies being the kidnapper

Jeremias Muianga confirmed the deposit of 500,000 meticais in his BCI account, but denied being part of the gang who kidnapped Saneshe. He said he received the money quite innocently at the request of his friend, Chungo.

“I confirm that the 500,000 meticais was in my BCI account. My friend Chungo called me to ask if I had a BCI account, and I said yes. He had already said that he intended to sell his car for 500,000 and claimed that he had already found a customer who wanted to pay for the car. As I already knew about the business of selling the car, I gave him my account number. The next day he called me to confirm the transfer,” he said.

He said that after being advised of the deposit into his account too, he confirmed it by phone. “The same day Chungo came to me and asked me for my card and PIN. I accepted in the highest confidence and we went to the ATM. He took out five thousand meticais and gave me two thousand as a reward. Two day’s later, Chungo came back and asked for us to go to the bank together. We got there and withdrew 102,000 meticais at the cashier. I also transferred 180,000 meticais to an FNB account and got six thousand meticais reward.”

Jeremias said that from then on money was transferred to other accounts by telephone, at Chungo’s request. “Since then to the date my account has been blocked, and my card has been with Chungo. That’s why I did the transfers by telephone, at Chungo’s request.”

The now detained Muianga says that he went to Chimoio when a friend of his, who lives in the Planalto, asked him to accompany his wife who could not travel alone because she was pregnant.

“I went to Chimoio when friend who had been working there for some months asked me to accompany his wife. I am a computer technician, so I decided to look for a job there and I was hired to work at the Language Institute,” he said.

He also said that he had provided computer assembly services to the IPAJ, for the payments of which he was required to have an account with BCI.

“Because I needed the money, I went to the bank to get my old BCI account unblocked by the bank. When I got there, I asked the clerk if it was possible to get the account back, and he said yes, and I filled out some paperwork and attached a copy of my ID.

Then I asked if I needed to deposit any money to reopen the account and he said no, because my account had 63,995 meticais in it already. I was scared and asked how the amount ended up in my account. The clerk asked me to wait. That’s where the police came and arrested me. I am not a thief or a kidnapper,” he said.

During the abduction, the kidnappers, travelling in a Toyota Corolla Runex, shot António Chinai, who was driving Montichande’s grandchildren to the Colégio Académico in Beira, in the leg.

Source: Diário de Moçambique