[imagesource: Supplied by Moti family]

Last week, the four Moti brothers were returned home.

Their kidnapping captured the attention of the nation, with a high degree of planning and sophistication having gone into their abduction.

Publicly, there was little information regarding ransom demands.

Behind the scenes, experts say it’s likely that negotiations between the kidnappers and the family were taking place.

This morning, News24 has broken the news that the Moti family allegedly paid R50 million to secure the release of the four children:

The money is alleged to have been paid in bundles of cash.

However, Keshia Patchiappen has issued a statement on behalf of the Moti family, stating on the record that “the family would like to clarify that no ransom was paid”.

Sources said the ransom payment was the culmination of fraught negotiations between family representatives and the kidnappers. On the same day the boys were snatched on their way to school, their parents were contacted by the kidnappers who instructed them to start gathering their financial resources.

It was more than a week, they added, before proof of life was provided: an assurance that the kidnapped children were alive and unharmed, and typically a precursory condition to the payment of a ransom.

The money was said to have changed hands via a ‘dead drop’, which is “a coordinated handoff in which a physical object, in this instance cash, is left in an agreed-upon hiding spot, after which it is collected”.

When you consider the size of that alleged payoff (R50 million), kidnapping carried out correctly appears profitable.

A surge in these sorts of crimes has led to an increase in demand for bodyguards and other protection services.

Pierre Gildenhuys, who heads up forensic investigations at a private investigation firm, spoke with EWN:

“It’s not only your high profile people but it’s more and more becoming a need in South Africa…”

Gildenhuys said while wealthier people were targeted, kidnappings also took place in rural areas and townships where children were taken for ransom as well.

“Children are being kidnapped and held for ransom for R1,000, R2,000, R5,000. Whether you are white, black, Indian, poor or rich, unfortunately, we are all targets.”

Perhaps the denial of paying ransom from the family is at the request of law enforcement who want to discourage other syndicates from kidnapping children of wealthy families.

Others have wondered if there might be some legal or tax implications regarding how the family could allegedly muster R50 million in cash in the matter of a few weeks.

The family may also want time to heal and recover before recounting the ordeal publicly.

Over the weekend, a source close to the family told IOL that they’re all suffering through trauma:

“They are exhausted, and each family member is processing the ordeal in their own way, but also caring for each other.

“The happy ending has been a huge relief for them,” said the source.

Before the police can legally question the four brothers, they will need the permission of the parents.

Police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo would not publicly state if the boys had given a statement to police earlier this week.

Family spokesperson Keshia Patchiappen also refused to comment.

What’s most important at this stage is that the four children are back home with their parents.

[sources:news24&ewn&iol]