Mozambique: Another man arrested for alleged involvement in Maputo kidnapping

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Mozambique: Another man arrested for alleged involvement in Maputo kidnapping

12:15 CAT | 04 Jan 2023

Photo: O País

Mozambican authorities have arrested a man suspected of being involved in a kidnapping which occurred in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, in October, the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) has announced

The arrest of the 35-year-old man was made possible by investigations at the vehicle dealership establishment in Maputo where the car used during the kidnapping was bought, Maputo Sernic spokesman Hilário Lole told a press conference on Tuesday.

“Due to some distraction or lack of expertise, [the kidnappers] left information [in the dealership] which led us to this man,” the Sernic spokesman revealed.
The young man was arrested in Gaza, his natal province, and says that the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) found him through a document that he is unaware of.

“They said, on the way [to detention], that I bought a car and that I am building a house, but I never bought a car and I don’t even have a house, because I live with my brother,” the accused man said.

Sernic claims that it was on the basis of documentary evidence that the man was found.

“Sernic had information about the vehicle used to carry out the kidnapping, which was acquired days before the crime took place, in Maputo city dealership. The same individuals, due to some distraction or lack of expertise, left some data there that led us to this individual,” the Sernic spokesman explained.

This is not the only evidence Sernic has to support its accusation.

“We also have information that these individuals have domiciles in South Africa, and travel between the two countries. It is these facts that constitute evidence of the involvement of this individual as well as his accomplice, his brother, in the commission of this crime. There are also warrants against another man for involvement in other kidnappings. We are working to neutralise them and hold them accountable for their actions,” Lole added.

The kidnapping took place on October 3 outside the Islamic Cultural Centre on Avenida Alberto Luthuli, near the capital’s central business district, a security guard who witnessed the kidnapping said.

READ: Just In: Businessman kidnapped in Maputo – O País

Maputo and other Mozambican cities, mainly its provincial capitals, have since 2020 been subjected to a renewed wave of kidnappings, mainly targeting businesspeople or their family members.

Mozambique registered 13 kidnappings last year, with 33 arrests linked to the crimes, according to the most recent data provided by Sernic.

In an assessment of criminal activity in Mozambique presented in early June, Attorney General Beatriz Buchili acknowledged that kidnappings by criminal groups with cross-border affiliations, especially in South Africa, had been on the increase.

Buchili said furthermore that kidnapping victims were, even after their release, “constantly blackmailed” into paying sums of money to ensure that they were not kidnapped again.

READ: Ransom kidnappings add to South Africa’s crime woes

Source: Lusa / O País