SAPS TASK TEAM RESCUES BUSINESSMAN AND KILLS ALLEGED KINGPIN IN SHOOTOUT
The South African Police Service (SAPS) Anti-Kidnapping Task Team has safely reunited an Indian businessman with his family following a dramatic operation that ended in a deadly shootout with the alleged mastermind behind his kidnapping.
The businessman was rescued shortly after midnight on Thursday, 04 September 2025, in Alexandra, where he was found being held in a shack.
His release came just hours after a confrontation near the R21 in Kempton Park on Wednesday evening, where police engaged in a shootout with the alleged kidnapping kingpin known as “Dollarman”. The suspect was shot and killed during the exchange.
“Dollarman” was a notorious figure wanted for multiple kidnapping-for-ransom cases in both South Africa and Mozambique. He was listed on SERNIC, Mozambique’s wanted persons database, for several kidnappings. In South Africa, he was linked to at least five kidnapping-for-ransom cases, as well as housebreaking, carjacking, and possession of unlicensed firearms.
Since July 2021, the SAPS Anti-Kidnapping Task Team has arrested more than 337 kidnappers and seized over 146 illegal firearms during operations aimed at dismantling kidnapping syndicates.
Police have hailed this latest breakthrough as a significant victory in the ongoing fight against kidnapping syndicates in South Africa.
