A family friend of the woman kidnapped in Cape Town on Thursday told News24 she suffers from ill health and that her husband is “terribly worried” about her wellbeing.
Video footage of the woman kidnapped in Cape Town on Thursday morning shows how she was snatched in under two minutes in broad daylight.
Although she tried to fight back, she was eventually pushed into the back of a waiting vehicle and driven away.
Police confirmed that the woman who was kidnapped is 35 year old Ukrainian national Anichka Penev.
In the video, a white multi-purpose vehicle drives toward her on the wrong side of the road, right up to the front bumper of her yellow sports car, with personalised number plates, bringing her to a halt.
A white hatchback boxes her in from behind, at her back bumper. Two people approach the driver’s side, and she jumps out of the passenger side and tries to run but she is caught by another man, while another man joins him.
She is seen trying to fight them off, but they force her into the vehicle behind her car.
In the distance, cars are seen slowing down, with one vehicle turning around.
The vehicle she is in does a three-point turn, and in less than two minutes, she has been spirited away. Her vehicle stands idle on the road, the doors still open.
People run out of the gates of a nearby business, and a white car races out in pursuit.
Police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk confirmed that a 35-year-old woman was kidnapped at about 10:05 in Ipswich Road, near Saxdowne Road, Blue Downs.
“At the time of the incident, she was alone in the car. Circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation,” he said.
Based on social media pictures, the kidnapping took place outside the Norio plastics company.
Police are investigating a case of kidnapping and attempted murder.
Before Thursday’s incident, there were 32 reported cases of kidnapping, committed between March and September in the Western Cape, according to a recent briefing by Police Minister Bheki Cele.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime noted in its latest risk assessment report that kidnapping for ransom or extortion has been on the rise in South Africa since 2016.
“Victims include vulnerable members of townships and informal settlements, migrants, as well as prominent businesspeople and their families – with ransoms calibrated accordingly,” the report noted.
Researchers suggested that it may have become a viable revenue alternative to cash in transit heists, and could also be due to foreign-based syndicates expanding operations.
The increase in reported incidents is believed to be due to the presence of foreign-based syndicates expanding their activities.
They noted that there are different types of kidnappings – some are to get a person to draw money from an ATM, while others demand payment in cryptocurrency.
Researchers noted that it is also an underreported crime due to the risks of contacting the police.
News24
