An alleged senior citizen kidnapping ring operating in Durban has been cracked by the Newsbreak current affairs radio show on Lotus FM.
79-year old Clarence Herbst was found in a garage with other missing elderly people after his family received a tip-off following an interview on Newsbreak.
He has been missing since March 2018 and was last seen at the Addington Hospital on the Durban Beach front. However, his Sassa grant was being withdrawn every month until his family blocked his card.
Missing person’s organisation, South African Support Initiative (SASI) had been assisting the Herbst family to find him.
Tania Opperman from SASI says Herbst was found in a garage on a property where other elderly people are being held.
She says some of them were tied up and made to use paint-buckets to relieve themselves.
“Thank you very much to you guys. I must say thank you because due to your radio transmission that went out, Clarence was found. Last night, her father actually phoned her last night and she got the guys that had him in the place to actually say where they are, threatening to go to the police. When they arrived there, they actually did find Clarence there. It’s on the outskirts of Verulam in the middle of nowhere. It’s also not a normal registered company. There’s no NGO registration or anything, since 2017 when they applied but it was never approved. So, he is safe with his daughter at the moment and they are currently at the police station, closing the case,” says Opperman.
