Man arrested, car seized in highway kidnapping drama

Truck driver held hostage as SAPS, security company hunt down silver VW Polo

A call for public assistance in a kidnapping drama that played out between Makhanda, Kenton, Port Alfred and Bathurst yesterday ended with the arrest of a suspect and the seizing of a silver VW Polo.

Around midday on Wednesday July 22, Talk of the Town acted on a request from the province’s first responders to share a ‘BOLO’ (be on the lookout) for a silver VW Polo. At 4.30pm we were notified that the vehicle had been located and stopped. Because the pursuit of suspects was still active, no further information was shared.

Today, South African Police Service spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy confirmed that on 22 July 22 at about 12.30pm, Kenton-On-Sea SAPS got a call about a person who had been kidnapped at the intersection of the R343 Road between Kenton-on-Sea and Salem and the Kariega Quarry road.

He said the police station’s records were that a delivery truck coming from the direction of Kariega Quarry had stopped to turn on to the R343 when the driver (40) and his single passenger noticed a silver VW Polo stopped nearby and four men approaching them.

When one of the men had approached the passenger and asked him where his phone was, he told them he didn’t have one.

The other three men went to the driver and ordered him to get out of the truck.

“They then took the driver of the truck and put him in the silver VW Polo and drove off in the direction of Makhanda but made a u-turn and drove in the direction of Kenton-On-Sea,” McCarthy said.

With the assistance of a local private security company, police managed to trace and locate the silver VW Polo on the R72 where it was stopped. The occupant was arrested for kidnapping and the vehicle seized for investigation purposes, McCarthy said.

“At around 4.30pm on the same day, the driver of the truck reported to Bathurst SAPS that he had escaped from a house in Bathurst where he had been held hostage.”

The suspect is due to appear before the Alexandria Magistrate’s court soon.