Parents have been warned to be cautious following three incidents of child abduction and extortion in Ekurhuleni on Gauteng’s East Rand this month.
Five boys aged between six and 17-years were abducted.
The boys were later released after their parents paid the kidnappers ransoms of close to R12 000 for all of them.
All the boys were taken to hospital for medical examination and the results showed no sign of injuries.
The Gauteng Community Safety Department has asked the provincial police management to establish a team of detectives to hunt down the extortionists.
The Department’s spokesperson Ofentse Morwane says in each of the cases a ransom was paid by the parents as they had no choice. “Fortunately all the kids were found with no injuries. We want to make an appeal to parents to be more cautious and make sure that they look after their children to avoid such incidents.”
