KZN man who ‘faked own kidnap to get money from dad’ behind bars

A KwaZulu-Natal man is accused of lounging around in comfort at a holiday lodge while making fake calls of kidnapping for ransom to his family.

The 31-year-old found the arm of the law to be long after his arrest for allegedly defeating the ends of justice.

Hawks spokesperson W/O Sibu Ncane said he was apprehended by a team comprising the Hawks, Durban serious organised crime investigation and national priority violence crimes units, the police tracking team, provincial tactical response team and eThekwini hostage negotiators unit.

"The accused allegedly called his brother from a private number, claiming he had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom of R3m."

After an investigation was launched, he was discovered to have booked into a lodge in Blythedale "under false pretenses".

"It became clear the accused had allegedly orchestrated his own kidnapping to extort his father for a substantial sum of money."

He appeared in the KwaDukuza magistrate’s court on April 11 and was remanded to April 16 for formal bail application proceedings.

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