Two sisters from a wealthy Durban family have been arrested after pretending they and a year-old baby had been kidnapped, the Daily News reported on Thursday. The sisters apparently tried to extort a ransom from their parents.
Police conducted an extensive operation in a 24-hour search for the women and the toddler, the child of one of the sisters.
The sisters, from Tongaat, were arrested on Wednesday. They were released on warning after appearing in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court.
Police spokesperson Inspector Michael Read said the women and the toddler disappeared on Tuesday evening, prompting the child’s aunt to seek police assistance.
An SMS message was sent to the aunt’s phone, demanding R10 000 for the safe return of the sisters and the child.
While a search for the ”victims” was under way, one of the sisters turned up at the Verulam police station and said the kidnappers had released her. Police became suspicious and interrogated the woman.
”After questioning her, police … eventually realised the entire kidnapping had been fabricated,” said Read. ”We eventually got her to admit that she had fabricated the story and she led police to a house where they found her sister and the child unharmed.”
Read said the pair could be charged with defeating the ends of justice, and the state might seek to recover some of the costs involved in the search. — Sapa