Former RSA police officer arrested for attempted couple kidnapping

**BLOEMFONTEIN-(MaraviPost)-**A former South African Police Service (SAPS) sergeant who resigned while facing a business robbery charge has been arrested for impersonating a police officer to kidnap a couple, extort them and steal their car.

The 33-year-old ex-sergeant was arrested near a mall in Botshabelo in a joint intelligence-led operation by the Mangaung Metro Operational Command Centre Crime Combating Unit, Provincial Counter Intelligence and Selosesha Crime Intelligence.

Police say on 23 October at about 23:30, a group of suspects, some wearing police reflector jackets, entered a house in A-Section, Botshabelo, and kidnapped a couple under the pretence they were being arrested.

The victims were blindfolded, forced into a white VW Polo Vivo, while their grey Toyota Corolla was also taken and driven to an unknown location.

The couple’s ordeal continued into the next day. On 24 October, their bank alerted family members to suspicious large withdrawals from their account and said they could not reach the victims for confirmation.

When family did manage to contact them, the victims – speaking under duress – claimed they were relaxing at a hotel in Bloemfontein and would return on Sunday.

The suspects released them on Sunday, 26 October, but threatened to kill them and their families if they reported the crime. The couple had been extorted of an undisclosed amount of money and did not immediately go to police. The case was only opened on Monday, 26 October at Botshabelo SAPS.

The breakthrough came from an unlikely tip.

At about 09:30 on 26 October, Provincial Crime Intelligence received a call from Evaton SAPS in Gauteng, which was investigating suspicious deposits into a bank account. The account holder said he was being contacted by a man from Botshabelo.

The cellphone number was traced to the former sergeant, who had been stationed at Tweespruit SAPS and resigned in April 2026 after being arrested for a business robbery at a chain store in Ladybrand.

Investigators identified his vehicle as a white Golf 6 and established he was driving from Botshabelo to Bloemfontein. Officers intercepted and arrested him.

Upon questioning, police confirmed the phone belonged to him. He was arrested for kidnapping, impersonating a police official, extortion and theft of a motor vehicle. His phones – a blue Samsung A06 valued at R8,999 and a blue Itel valued at R300 – were booked into evidence.

Police have since established he was already out on R10,000 bail for the Ladybrand business robbery.

He is expected to appear before the Botshabelo Magistrate’s Court soon.

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