Kidnappings in Gauteng under scrutiny as SAPS task team takes down Mozambican kingpin
Gauteng continues to be a hotspot for kidnapping-for-ransom cases, with dozens of abductions reported across the province since the beginning of the year. Several of these cases also occurred in the Carletonville area.
In a recent major breakthrough, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Anti-Kidnapping Task Team tracked down a wanted Mozambican kidnapping kingpin to an apartment complex in Fourways, Johannesburg.
The operation is part of an ongoing investigation into the kidnapping of a Pakistani businessman from Pretoria West, who remains missing. His family has received a ransom demand, and SAPS continues its search for his safe return.
The high-risk tracing operation began at a residential estate in Carlswald, Midrand, where officers arrested two suspects and seized two vehicles — a luxury Mercedes-Benz and a silver Mitsubishi Pajero — believed to have been used in previous kidnappings.
From Midrand, the investigation led the team to Fourways. Upon arrival, they came under fire and returned shots in a deadly confrontation. One suspect was fatally wounded during the shootout. He was later identified as 40-year-old Mauro Mucambe Junior, a fugitive wanted by Mozambican authorities in connection with several kidnapping cases. A warrant for his arrest was issued by the Maputo Police in August 2024.
Police recovered an unlicensed firearm, 10 rounds of ammunition, four mobile phones, and four bank cards from the scene.
The SAPS confirmed that since January 2024, the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team has arrested over 170 suspects involved in ransom-related abductions, rescued more than 100 victims — mostly in Gauteng — and recovered more than R1.2 million in ransom money. Over 40 vehicles used in the commission of these crimes have also been confiscated.
This latest case also ties into the recent breakthrough in the murder investigation of Olorato Mongale. The same task team helped track down a key suspect, Philangenkosi Makhanya. Another suspect, Bongani Mthimkhulu, is still at large.
SAPS reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling kidnapping syndicates operating in Gauteng and beyond, urging the public to report suspicious activity.
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