Mozambican kidnapping kingpin killed in Joburg as R27m ransom case unfolds
The police operation is linked to the kidnapping of a Pakistani businessman from Pretoria West.
A R27-million ransom was demanded for his release.
A suspected Mozambican kidnapping kingpin was killed in a shootout with police in Fourways, Johannesburg, amid an ongoing investigation into the abduction of a Pretoria West businessman.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe on Saturday said the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team had been following leads on the kidnapping of a Pakistani national who remains in captivity.
A R27-million ransom demand was made to his family. The victim is a prominent wholesale supplier to hundreds of shops across Gauteng.
Police first swooped on a residential complex in Carlswald, Midrand, where they arrested two suspects and seized a Mercedes-Benz and silver Pajero. They then moved to Fourways, where a shootout ensued.
Supplied/SAPS
'One suspect was fatally wounded, and it was later confirmed that the deceased was 40-year-old Mauro Mucambe Junior, a wanted kidnapping mastermind in Mozambique,' said Mathe.
'A warrant for his arrest was issued in Maputo in August 2024.'
Police recovered an unlicenced firearm with ten rounds of ammunition, four cellphones, and four bank cards during the operation.
Since January 2024 to date, Mathe said the task team had arrested more than 170 criminals involved in kidnappings for ransom.
More than R1.2 million had been recovered and more than 100 people rescued, mainly in Gauteng, and more than 40 vehicles used in kidnapping crimes were also seized, she added.
The task team was also instrumental in tracking down Philangenkosi Makhanya, wanted in connection with the murder of Olorato Mongale, whose body was found in Lombardy West after she went missing following a date. The search continues for his alleged accomplice, Bongani Mthimkhulu.
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