The Hawks have released information that four people have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Durban businesswoman Sandra Moonsamy, whose abductors allegedly demanded R140m for her release.
Moonsamy was kidnapped in May on the M13 on Stapleton Road in Pinetown, while driving her black Range Rover.
The Hawks confirmed that Moonsamy had been found alive in Witbank on Thursday evening, not Pretoria as previously reported.
A few days after she was kidnapped, “her family received calls for ransom set at R140m”, according to Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
It is at this point that the matter was reported to the Hawks for investigation.
Mulaudzi also revealed that Moonsamy had been “found bound in chains in Emalahleni and was subsequently rescued by an integrated team of the Hawks, assisted by Crime Intelligence, Gauteng Provincial Organised Crime members and Ekurhuleni metro police”.
The Hawks also seized three luxury vehicles worth R3m and a firearm.
Four suspects – aged between 30 and 34 – have been arrested and are expected to appear at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of kidnapping.
Mulaudzi said other charges may be added at a later stage.
At the time of her kidnapping, authorities said that shots were fired at the driver’s window. Her assailants damaged the window with the butt of a firearm, forcing her out of the vehicle.
Her handbag and phone were left at the scene.
