Police Minister Bheki Cele says the police are making inroads in addressing kidnappings in the Western Cape.
He made the comments after a 42-year-old Chinese businessperson was safely reunited with his family last week.
The man was abducted a week ago, along Jakes Gerwel Drive.
“ We are investigating how he was released as he was dropped off on Stellenbosch Arterial on Wednesday. The investigation is also trying to establish if a ransom was paid”, said Western Cape Police Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile
In April, five people were arrested for kidnapping two Chinese nationals in Macassar.
Cele says the trend is shifting from Cape Town to Gauteng now.
“I’m impressed by the response from the police. With the team which is led by the General in Crime Intelligence, we are making breakthroughs not only here in the Western Cape, but nationally. What I can is that there’s a shift in kidnapping from Cape Town to Gauteng”.
He adds that he’s concerned that foreign nationals are now targeting fellow internationals here in the country.
“ What annoys me is that we have a big portion of foreign nationals in the country by other foreign nationals. That’s one thing that we have to work on because that taints the South African’s image”.