Mozambique: SERNIC announces arrest of four kidnappers – AIM

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Mozambique: SERNIC announces arrest of four kidnappers – AIM

6:10 CAT | 01 Mar 2022

Photo: Noticias

Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) has announced the arrest of four men aged between 24 and 38 in connection with five kidnappings in Maputo city and province.

The four are accused of kidnapping a well-known doctor, Bassir Gani, a Portuguese citizen snatched near the Portuguese consulate in Maputo, the manager of the Takdir restaurant, and two other businessmen. The kidnappings took place between October 2021 and January this year

At a Monday press conference, SERNIC spokesperson Henrique Mendes also showed reporters three luxury Maputo residences which the kidnappers had turned into prisons to hold their victims. Mendes said they had negotiated monthly rent of between 50,000 and 100,000 meticais (780 to 1,560 dollars, at the current exchange rate) with the owners.

In one of these homes, the kidnappers paid three months’ rent in advance – 300,000 meticais. Mendes said that the payments were made in coordination with one of the leaders of the kidnap gang, who lives in South Africa.

One of the accused, whom Mendes named as Omar (but who calls himself Alberto Tomoneque) “identified the residences and negotiated with their owners. He was also responsible for guaranteeing the logistics. This was financed by his uncle, who lives in South Africa”.

Mendes said Sernic “is working in coordination with the South African police in order to arrest the remaining members of this gang”.

Tomoneque denied all involvement in the kidnappings, and blamed them on his brother-in-law who lives on South Africa. But he did admit to accompanying this brother-in-law when he scouted out the three residences used as prisons.

He said “I don’t know anything. I just heard my brother-in-law speaking with his friend, saying they had beaten a man who was kidnapped in the Zimpeto suburb, and they put him in a house in Triunfo neighbourhood. They put the doctor in one of the houses, and in the third they put the woman from the embassy (i.e. the woman kidnapped near the Portuguese consulate)”.

Asked about the reports of Mozambicans arrested in South Africa on charges of fraud and kidnapping, Mendes gave no details, but said the information will soon be shared with the public.

Source: AIM