A 25-year-old man from Cape Town resorted to extreme measures to fuel his gambling addiction. The man, who appeared before the Athlone magistrate’s court, allegedly colluded with a friend to stage his own kidnapping and extort money from his family.
According to Western Cape Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk, the suspect’s brother reported him missing after receiving a message from an unknown number.
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The message claimed that the man had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom of between R4,000 and R5,000 for his safe return.
The captors also mentioned that they had taken the rent money and the man’s cell phone and were located in the Khayelitsha area.
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The situation took a more distressing turn when the ransom demand was increased to R15,000. The family, desperate to secure the man’s release, managed to pay the bogus ransom money via e-wallet on January 9th. However, the very next day, the suspect returned home and confessed to the truth about his alleged capture.
