By: Natasha Archary

Seven men were arrested for the kidnapping of a Wits Student who was lured through the dating app, Grindr.
The 18-year old who was kidnapped on 19 September, was found bound and unconscious at the Denver Men’s Hostel on 20 September.
This after a special task team comprising of members of Gauteng’s Crime Intelligence, Organised Crime Investigations, Hillbrow Detectives, Johannesburg Trio Detectives, Johannesburg Metro Police K9, Security Companies and Cellular Data Investigation were led to an ATM where one of the suspects was expected to withdraw the ransom money.
Point of View with Phemelo Motene spoke to National Police Spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe about the case.
Listen to the full conversation here:
According to police the suspects had demanded R30 000 ransom from the Wits’ student’s family for his safe return.
Police staged an observation on the M2 where the suspect was to withdraw the cash, and he was then arrested.
The suspect led police to the Denver Men’s Hostel where the kidnapped Wits student was found.
Six other suspects were then arrested, and the team is investigating the possibility of linking these suspects to 85 cases in Gauteng with the same modus operandi.
The student was taken to hospital for medical attention.
The seven men will appear in court where they will be facing charges of kidnapping and extortion.
7 suspects who kidnapped a Wits University student by luring him through a dating app “Grindr” have been arrested in Denver, JHB.They had demanded 30k from the students family.They are being linked to at least 85 cases where the LGBTQI+ community were targeted for ransom payments pic.twitter.com/ga8VLFvrv6
— Athlenda Mathe (@AthlendaM) September 21, 2023
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