Cape Town - Unscrupulous money lenders owed a substantial debt may be behind the spike in kidnappings that have left police baffled warn crime activists.
A week has passed since eight-year-old Abira Dekhta was kidnapped and her family desperately wait for any news. She is the latest in at least 200 kidnappings in the Western Cape, involving mostly foreign nationals in the past few months.
Abira is the daughter of cellphone businessman, Aslam Dekhta and his wife, Salama Dekhta, who lives in Rylands and are originally from India.
The Grade 2 Rylands Primary School pupil had been sitting in the front seat of her school transport vehicle when she was abducted by two armed men on November 5 near Amber Court, metres from her home.
A crime activist who assists polices with kidnapping cases said she believed money lenders were behind the kidnappings because they wanted outstanding debt settled by the victims’ family. This was a motive police need to probe.
She said this may be the reason families also remained silent about the ransom demands that were paid in some cases.
“There have been many cases where families have paid the money (ransom) and not said anything and they do not want to get the police involved,” said the crime fighter.
She said this was a motive seen in other countries.
“ When they came into the country they have to take a loan from someone who has financial means and is (from) their culture. That person supplies them with the capital, for example, R1 million to start the business and to purchase their home and vehicles.
“They need to pay back the money in instalments. But when they cannot pay (then some is kidnapped) … that happens in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you skip payments – they take your loved ones and force you to pay.”
A high-ranking police officer who cannot be identified has more than 30 years of experience under his belt and works closely on kidnapping cases in the Western Cape said the syndicate was growing and that despite payment being made, the kidnappers were never arrested.
“Most of these families just want their family members back instead of contacting the police or even when the police assist in the payment procedure.
But what was peculiar for him was that police were involved in the payment of the ransom in a few cases and everything goes quiet. “It was like watching a movie.”
“There were cameras, a police helicopter and a task force, but the kidnappers got away and how is that possible? Perhaps a case is being built by the police for future convictions.
“The ransom is paid and everything goes quiet. The syndicate is much bigger than we think.
“If for some reason, these victims find themselves involved in illegal or legal funding, that could turn everything completely around.”
Crime activist Hanif Loonat, who works also works closely with the police kidnapping cases and who had been part of a recent panel on kidnappings in the province, said he had called for extortion, as a motive, to be probed when abductions became more prevalent.
“I raised this … It's happening in the Bangladeshi, Somalian, Ethiopian and Chinese communities,” he explained.
“(Kidnapping) is done by their own fellow nationals and local gangsters.
“The areas targeted are Elsies, Bonteheuwel, Bishop Lavis, Broader Mitchell's Plain, Steenberg, Lavender Hill, Khayelitsha, Langa, Dunoon, Gugulethu, Nyanga Hanover Park, Manenberg, Delft and many other areas.
“A few of these foreign nationals were killed for not adhering to the demands. I raised this when I was the chairperson of the Mitchells Plain cluster. No one took me seriously.
“I was told that it was just allegations and no one had opened cases. Who would have the guts to do so knowing that their lives could be in danger, especially with colluding, corrupt and ineffective law enforcement members?
“They bring their political differences to our country. The extortionist is like political parties in opposition to that of the victims.”
Journalist and anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee said he couldn’t comment on the topic but he had heard of one or two cases where this was the motive.
Meanwhile, residents in Abira’s have claimed that the kidnappers had frequently been in the area before the abduction and were spotted in their white double cab Nissan.
The family has been anxiously waiting for a ransom call.
This week when the Weekend Argus visited Abira’s home, the family said they wouldn’t be talking to the media as they believed this might be the reason why the kidnappers hadn’t made contact.
Her uncle said they were all traumatised by the kidnapping and didn’t know the motive.
“We do not know why this has happened. We are all traumatised by what has happened. The family is in communication with the police.”
Fowzia Veerasamy, chairperson of the Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch, said they had handed CCTV footage, over to the police and that there were no fresh leads.
The South African Police Service has since indicated that they were unable to comment about the case due to the sensitivity of the investigation.