Mozambique: Businessman’s son kidnapped in Chimoio city

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Mozambique: Businessman’s son kidnapped in Chimoio city

2:24 CAT | 25 Apr 2021

Photo: Miramar

Unknown assailants on Saturday night kidnapped the son of a businessman in the central Mozambican city of Chimoio, according to a report carried by the independent television station STV.

The victim, Depesh Ramesh, is the son of a businessman in the baking industry. Witnesses say that Ramesh spent almost the entire day at home. At about 19.30, he went into the street to lock the doors of his vehicle.

He was immediately ambushed by a group of armed men, who fired two shots into the air to disperse passers-by. Then they bundled Ramesh into their own car, and drove away.

So far the police have not reacted to the kidnapping, and it is not known whether the kidnappers have demanded a ransom from the victim’s family.

The wave of kidnappings in Mozambican cities began in late 2011. Normally the criminals release their victim after negotiating an enormous ransom with the family. Occasionally, the police have caught the gunmen who actually carried out the abductions, but they have been singularly unsuccessful in tracking down the men who give the kidnappers their orders.

Earlier this month, criminal gangs kidnapped three business people or their relatives – two in Maputo and one in Quelimane

The ease with which the kidnappers operate suggest that they may enjoy protection from within the police force.

Source: AIM