JOHANNESBURG - From an eight-year-old snatched on her way to school to a wealthy businessman who was abducted and murdered, South Africa is experiencing a surge in kidnappings for money.
During the festive season, police have been warning parents to be vigilant around beaches and shopping malls since they are potential hotspots for child abduction.
"They should take extra care of their children," said Robert Netshiunda, police spokesman in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal. "Children go missing and the crime of kidnapping is a reality," he told AFP. South Africa has long had a reputation for violent crime and is often described as one of the most dangerous countries in the world outside a war zone.
But kidnapping for ransom or extortion "is comparatively new", noted Jean-Pierre Smith, a Cape Town municipal security councillor.
Analysts say kidnappings have been fuelled by the involvement of foreign crime groups suspected to be operating from Mozambique and Pakistan, among others countries.
