The Provincial Commissioner of Police in North West, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena commended a multi-disciplinary team comprising of Provincial Organised Crime, Head Office Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Bojanala Platinum Sub-District 2 Task Team and Brits Crime Intelligence for working tirelessly to locate the cousins; Zahraa Mohammed (17) and Bataviya Mohammed (19) who were kidnapped on Wednesday, 6 March 2024.
The cousins were found on Monday evening, 25 March 2024, in a house at New Stands, Klipgat near Winterveldt and Mabopane. In the process of locating the victims, the determined team arrested six suspects. The seventh suspect; Humphrey Martin, aged 48, was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning, 8 March 2024, at Naturena, in Johannesburg. He has already appeared in the Brits Magistrates’ Court on 11, 18, and 25 March 2024. He remains in custody and is expected to appear again on Monday, 8 April 2024, for formal bail application.
Meanwhile, the victims were examined by paramedics at Klipgat police station’s Victims Friendly Room (VFR) and found to be in a good state of health except for exhaustion and trauma. They were safely reunited with their families without any visible injuries.
It was reported at the time of the incident that the suspects bumped the victims’ car from the front with a maroon Audi A3, to force it to stop. The said Audi A3 was reportedly stolen in Grasfontein in March this year. It is further alleged that two armed men got out of a white Volkwagen Polo GTI and ordered the cousins to get into it (the Polo). The driver of the Audi got into a Toyota Hilux allegedly driven by Humphrey Martin. The suspects then fled from the crime scene with the victims. The latter’s Mercedes Benz vehicle and the Audi A3 were found at the crime scene.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the Audi A3 was reportedly stolen in Garsfontein in March this year.
The suspects are expected to appear before the Brits Magistrates’ Court soon, facing two counts of kidnapping and extortion.
Lieutenant General Kwena expressed his gratitude to the multi-disciplinary team for their relentless efforts, which led to the finding of the victims and the arrest of the suspects. He indicated that the arrests will without doubt, sound a warning that those who commit crimes have no place to hide in society and will be exposed as it happened in this case.