A Portuguese trader was kidnapped this Monday on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, sources from the Portuguese community in the African country told Lusa.
The abduction took place in the West Rand region, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the economic capital of South Africa, according to an urgent message published at 09:00 (08:00 Lisbon time) on the Whatsapp social network of the Portuguese associations of South Africa. Africa.
The report, which included a photo of the victim, indicated that the Portuguese trader, owner of a butcher shop, was kidnapped from his place of business by two pickup trucks.
Earlier in an SMS message, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Portuguese Forum of South Africa announced that it was investigating “two new kidnappings and one murder”, without providing further details.
The Portuguese-South African NGO, as well as the South African Police National Command (SAPS), which Lusa contacted, have yet to respond to a request for clarification on the incident.
The Portuguese government was already aware of the case, and a source in the Foreign Minister’s office told Lusa that Paulo Rangel was trying to obtain more information.
The same source said the family did not request any information or report the incident to the Portuguese Consulate General in Johannesburg.
According to South African police, there is a growing number of kidnapping crimes in South Africa, in which large sums of money are demanded to rescue victims.
Official data seen by Lusa shows that in the last quarter of 2023, South African police recorded 4,577 kidnappings in the country, an increase of 11% (an increase of 453 cases) compared to the 4,124 cases reported to security forces over the past year. same period 2023. last year.
According to South African police, the country’s provinces most affected by kidnappings are Gauteng (51.7%), where Johannesburg and Pretoria, the country’s capital, are located; and KwaZulu-Natal (1.4%), which borders Mozambique and is home to the port city of Durban.
According to the South African government, there are approximately 200,000 Portuguese citizens and approximately half a million Portuguese descendants living in South Africa.