Pretoria – Police officers from the provincial task team and Tzaneen tracking team have launched a manhunt for a group of criminals using social media to lure unsuspecting job seekers for non-existing employment and kidnapping them, robbing them “and then going to an extend of humiliating them to extort more money from relatives”.
Three victims were brought to the Tzaneen police station by a motorist on Sunday, after they allegedly suffered a life-threatening and humiliating ordeal at the hands of kidnappers.
“The three victims, a male person aged 27 and two women aged 21 and 33 respectively, allegedly responded to an advert on Facebook about employment in Tzaneen. The unsuspecting victims boarded taxis from Jane Furse, Groblersdal and Thohoyandou respectively, after they were individually directed by the suspects through WhatsApp to a certain spot in Tzaneen for job opportunities,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.
The four suspects were waiting for the victims at a filling station in Tzaneen, and thereafter boarded a taxi towards Bolobedu with the victims.
“They then disembarked along the way and took the victims to a secluded bushy area where they allegedly robbed them of their cellphones, money and clothes contained in a bag. They then ordered them to strip naked, took pictures and sent them to the family of one of the victims and demanded money for their release,” Mojapelo said.
“The suspects then allegedly ordered the male victim to rape one of the women. The victims were found by a motorist along the road hitch-hiking and took them to Tzaneen police station at about 11am.”
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe has warned community members, especially job seekers to “be extra careful when seeking employment and be wary of advertisements on social media platforms”.
The police have opened cases of kidnapping, rape and robbery.
Community members are requested to provide the police with any information that can lead to the arrest of suspects.
IOL