Shopkeeper kidnapped in central Maputo

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Shopkeeper kidnapped in central Maputo

4:43 CAT | 03 Mar 2016

Unknown criminals on Tuesday kidnapped a 44 year old shopkeeper in central Maputo, reports Thursday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”.

This latest victim of the wave of kidnappings in Mozambican cities that began in late 2011 is Helder Hemendra, owner of the “Supermercado Royal” on Mao Tse-Tung Avenue.

According to eye-witnesses, Hemendra was grabbed by three armed men in the early evening, just after he had closed the doors of his shop. He was dragged to the kidnappers’ vehicle, before the impotent gaze of the shop workers ad of bystanders.

One eye-witness said “They didn’t shoot, but they pointed the guns, and then dragged the owner of the supermarket into a Nissan car which had been parked there for almost an hour. Three armed men came out of the car, but two more were inside”.

The police did not show up at the crime scene that evening (even though the Maputo third police precinct is located on Mao Tse-Tung Avenue), and it was Hemendra’s family who informed the police of the kidnapping.

The family declined to say anything to reporters other than that they intended to keep the shop open.

Source: AIM