Mozambique: Police detains 5 men involved in sale of a car used in recent kidnapping

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Police detains 5 men involved in sale of a car used in recent kidnapping

12:39 CAT | 05 May 2022

Photo: Notícias

Mozambican police have arrested five men on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of the son of a businessman outside his house near the parish of Santo António da Polana, in Maputo, on Tuesday 26 April, a source from the corporation announced on Wednesday.

“There are indications of them having participated in the identification, location and acquisition of a vehicle used in the execution of the crime,” said Hilário Lole, spokesperson for the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) in Maputo city, at a press conference.

ALSO READ: Just In: Another kidnapping in Maputo city, yesterday- TVM

The men, aged between 31 and 41, were detained on Thursday and Friday of last week, Lole said. All of them have already been named official suspects [‘arguidos’] and should now be “presented to the criminal investigation judge for interrogation” and “legalisation of their imprisonment”.

The businessman’s son was kidnapped on April 26, near his house. Meanwhile, Notícias identifies him today as “a relative of businessman Faruk Ayoob, owner of Ayoob Comercial”.

The kidnappers allegedly threatened him with an AK-47 weapon, forcing him to get into one of the two vehicles they were using, Hilário Lole told Lusa at the time.

According to Lole, the victim has not yet been rescued, and investigations into his location are ongoing. “Unfortunately, all victims of the latest cases in Maputo city are still in captivity,” said Lole, cited by Noticias.

Among those arrested are the owner of the Honda Accord vehicle allegedly used for the kidnapping, the intermediaries and other people to whom the car was allegedly sold.

“I don’t understand what my involvement [in the kidnapping] might have been. I sold my car on March 26th, through an intermediary, and I gave them the buying and selling process [documents] . Then the [new owner] went to sell the car to someone else,” one of the detainees told reporters.

According to Notícias, one other detainee, who bought the car, also claims to have no connection to the crime, despite having sold the car to an unidentified person. “I used the car for two weeks and sold it because it consumed a lot of fuel. I don’t know the customer’s name because when we made the sale he didn’t fill in the buy and sell [document],” he said.