[imagesource: YouTube / News24]

The kidnapping of businessmen in our country shows no signs of slowing down, as a hardware store owner in Vereeniging was taken on Thursday morning.

CCTV footage from Fred’s Hardware in De Deur Estates reveals the moment the man was abducted outside of his own store.

He appears to have been snatched by four suspects, with three grabbing him and one driving the escape vehicle.

The suspects’ bakkie was apparently displaying a false number plate (FT00BC GP), per News24:

According to police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe, the police could not comment on an active kidnapping case as it would jeopardise the victim’s life.

Likewise, the victim’s brother has not made a statement as the family is waiting for police to get involved.

Watch the moment unfold:

TimesLIVE has been reporting a series about kidnappings for ransom, with part one revealing gruelling details about the reality of the crime:

The son of a Mozambican mining magnate and his childhood friend are allegedly part of a network of wealthy Mozambicans orchestrating SA’s high-profile kidnappings, assisted by corrupt police officers and cash-in-transit robbers.

Alarmingly, the investigation has revealed that teams of police officers from crime intelligence, the Hawks, traffic departments, and flying squads are all complicit in providing “information, uniforms, weapons and facilitate escapes on major road networks or conduct fake roadblocks to kidnap victims”.

These high-profile kidnapping syndicates have managed to secure more than R750 million in ransoms since 2017, with the money going towards funding their luxurious lifestyles.

You can read more about that here.

[sources:news24&timeslive]