Joburg businessman is latest in kidnapping surge

A Johannesburg Jewish businessman was driving home from OR Tambo International Airport last Wednesday night, 11 February, when he was hijacked and kidnapped. 

He had stopped at a yield sign on an offramp while on the phone to a friend when gunmen hijacked him, said CSO Chief Executive Liron Sanders, explaining that hijacking was on the increase across the city. 

The man shouted to his friend that he was being hijacked and kidnapped before the line went dead, according to Sanders. Within a short time, he had been forced to hand over access to his accounts, and was later dumped in Alexandra township without his car or phone. 

The friend immediately called the CSO control room, which set off a search that ended with the man being found alive, medically assessed, and escorted home after opening a case with the police. 

The incident is one of a growing number of what are known as “express kidnappings”, in which victims are abducted for a limited period and forced to transfer funds or withdraw cash before being released. 

“Criminals will kidnap you, generally in your vehicle or in their vehicle, for a short period of time, and they will try to withdraw or transfer funds out of your bank account,” said Sanders. “Once they’ve completed what they can do before the banks freeze [your accounts], they drop you off somewhere, take your car and phone, and leave you stranded. That’s what’s taking place. It’s called an express kidnapping because they’re not kidnapping you for ransom. They’re kidnapping you for a brief period to extort as much money out of you as possible.” 

The most recent victim had parked at the airport and was driving himself home when he was kidnapped. Sanders said the attack didn’t happen at the airport itself and that such crimes aren’t linked to a particular origin point. “The point is he was on his way home,” he said. The man was eventually dropped in Alexandra, where a resident allowed him to use a phone to send his location to the security teams searching for him. 

The speed with which the friend reported the incident was critical. “As it was happening, he shouted that he was being hijacked and kidnapped, call for help, and then the phone died,” Sanders said. “Which is fantastic, because that’s how we got the information and started deploying our resources.” 

Based on previous cases in which victims had been taken to Alexandra, responders moved into the general area and then into the township once more information became available. The victim was found shortly afterwards. 

The CSO dealt with between 12 and 16 express kidnappings in the Jewish community in 2025, Sanders said, an average of at least one a month. He emphasised that the crime wasn’t directed at Jews. “It’s not targeted at the Jewish community. It’s targeted at anyone. We just hear about it because we deal with it.” 

Police operations and media reports indicate that the pattern extends beyond the community, with several high-profile rescues and arrests in Gauteng linked to express kidnappings for financial gain. Banking and risk specialists have warned that the immediacy of digital payments and the availability of large sums through electronic transfers have made the crime attractive to syndicates. 

Sanders said the locations most often associated with these incidents are areas with lower security visibility, particularly highway offramps that allow perpetrators to move quickly between major routes and densely populated areas. He identifies roads near Alexandra as examples, but stresses that the crime is opportunistic and can occur anywhere. “Hotspot areas we are seeing are offramps and low-secured areas in terms of security presence,” he said. “It’s more opportunistic. They see an opportunity, and that’s why they do it.” 

The crime places pressure on banks as well as victims. Perpetrators typically force victims to unlock banking applications, reveal PINs, or accompany them to ATMs. Once suspicious activity is detected and accounts are frozen, the victim is usually released. Disputes over liability for transfers made under duress have become an increasing feature of the aftermath. For CSO, the key factor is time. Immediate reporting and the ability to track a victim’s location can determine whether a search begins within minutes or hours. 

Sanders said the first step for community members in an emergency is to call the CSO control room. He also recommended that families use live tracking applications that allow responders to locate them quickly. Other precautions include driving on familiar, well-secured routes, and maintaining awareness. 

“Being compliant and not aggravating the kidnappers is obviously a good one,” he said. “Driving trusted routes that you know that are well secured, and in areas that you feel comfortable with and then having awareness, vigilance, and a family tracking app.” 

Although physical detention in an express kidnapping is brief, the impact on victims is severe. In the latest case, a shouted warning during a phone call made the difference between a disappearance and a rapid recovery. The pattern it represents, Sanders said, is becoming an established feature of Johannesburg’s crime landscape. 

• The CSO’s 24-hour emergency number is: 086 18 000 18.