A 42-year-old married female from Dawncrest in Verulam – KZN and her lover were arrested by Law Enforcement for fabricating a Hijacking and Kidnapping.
On Thursday afternoon (22 August 2024) at approximately 19:30, the Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) Operations Centre received a call the woman’s husband requesting immediate assistance. According to the caller, he received a voice note via WhatsApp from his wife informing him that she was in the process of being hijacked on a back road in Riet River – KZN. Her husband thereafter received two pin drops from her phone indicating that she was passing Pinetown & Westville – KZN. All communication then ended.
The incident was circulated by the RUSA Admin to the public via Facebook ans other social media platforms in an attempt to locate the vehicle & the missing woman.
Several Law Enforcement Agencies & Partners began searching for the female throughout the KZN Province. Reaction Officers received several tip offs immediately after the circulation become public. Several callers informed Officers that the female was involved in an extra marital affair and had faked the hijacking to be with her lover. Officers were also forwarded an image of a woman requesting legal assistance in obtaining a divorce. The request on a public platform was believed to the kidnapping victim. Further information was received that the woman was seen driving alone in her car hours after the hijacking was reported. A Facebook friend informed later reported that the woman was active on Facebook Messenger a day after her kidnapping. Reaction Unit SA could not immediately verify any of the information and continued the search. This information was shared with the relevant role-players actively involved in the search.
The RUSA Helicopter lifted off on Friday on request from Law Enforcement in an attempt to locate the white Suzuki Celerio.
The female was located in Newcastle – KZN yesterday morning (Saturday) by Law Enforcement and has been criminally charged after providing fictitious information regarding the hijacking/kidnapping. Her 55 year old lover was arrested after he removed the number plates from her vehicle and abandoned the white Suzuki Celerio with registration NJ 24491 in an attempt to mislead the investigation. Both suspects then booked into a lodge. Reaction Officers were not present when both suspects was located.
Detectives from SAPS Verulam traveled to Newcastle on Saturday evening and transported both the male & female back to Ethekweni. They are currently in custody of the South African Police Service (SAPS) charged for Defeating the Ends of Justice on Verulam Cas 511/08/2024.
The suspects are expected to appear in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court this week.