Lentswe, Klerksdorp - Higino Da Silva Cruz (46) was remanded in custody for further investigation, after appearing in the Klerksdorp Magistrates’ Court on charges of kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion and contravention of the Immigration Act. The case was postponed until Tuesday May 28.
According to Col Adele Myburgh, police spokesperson, he was arrested after information was received from National Crime intelligence that a Brazilian national was kidnapped in Klerksdorp and held in a guest house in Oudorp.
“The team comprising the Provincial Organised Crime and Anti-Gang Unit, was mobilised and attended to the matter. They proceeded to the guesthouse and searched the place where they found two men.
One of them was the victim, aged 39, while the other with Portugal, Angola and Namibia citizenship, was guarding the victim. The latter was successfully rescued and attended to by paramedics,” she said.
According to information, the victim and the suspects arrived at the guesthouse on May 17. “He was offered a job in April as a diamond expert in the country. He allegedly entered the country through Angola and Namibia, then met the suspect who took his passport and bank cards. The victim was ultimately kidnapped and the suspects demanded a ransom before he was rescued.’’
