Police arrest second suspect in Welkom pensioner kidnapping and R55 000 extortion

A 37-year-old man wanted in connection with the kidnapping and extortion of a 67-year-old Welkom pensioner has been arrested in Botshabelo, the South African Police Service said in a statement issued by the Office of the Provincial Commissioner for the Free State.

The arrest on Friday, 2 October 2026 followed an intelligence-driven operation by the Free State Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit, the Mangaung Metro District Operational Command Centre Crime Combating Unit and Selosesha Crime Intelligence. According to the police account, members received information on the suspect’s whereabouts, operationalised it and moved to J-Section in Botshabelo, where he was spotted and intercepted on his way to his residence.

Police say the suspect attempted to destroy his cellphone during the arrest. Officers stopped him and confiscated the phone and a sim card for further investigation.

The case dates back to Friday, 14 August 2026, when the pensioner was kidnapped and extorted of R55 000 in Welkom. Police say the victim had gone to a meeting with a female suspect who had promised to secure a mining job for his son. The meeting was held in a parking lot. There, according to the statement, two men pretending to be police officials kidnapped the victim, threatened him and extorted the money.

A case of kidnapping and extortion was registered at Welkom. Investigators established the whereabouts of one suspect, who was traced and arrested. Police say investigations showed he had been in telephone contact with the victim before the incident to arrange the meeting between the pensioner and the female suspect, and had also been in contact with the female suspect numerous times, which police say links him to the alleged kidnapping, extortion and impersonation of a police official.

He will appear in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 5 October 2026 on charges of impersonating a police official, kidnapping and extortion. He is expected to appear alongside the first suspect, a woman who made her first court appearance on 1 October 2026.

The statement is an SAPS media summary of the case as it stands. It does not name the suspects, and the charges have not yet been tested in court.

Source: South African Police Service, Police pounce on second suspect linked to the kidnapping and extortion case following an intelligence driven operation