2 men in court on kidnapping, extortion charges after police rescue Egyptian trainee pilots

After a full-scale investigation, police were able to rescue two Egyptians who were allegedly kidnapped on Saturday. 

Muwmin Hitham Kamel Gaber, 19, and Fadi Said Elhadi Mohamed Hamoud, 31, who were in South Africa to train as pilots, went missing after they left Vereeniging.

Their rented car was found abandoned on the R59. 

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team found a house in Bryanston on Monday, where the kidnapped victims were allegedly being held.

"The discovery came as a result of the team following further leads, subsequent to last Friday's arrest of two suspects, who allegedly kidnapped two Egyptian nationals and demanded ransom.

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The two victims, aged 19 and 35 years old, and who are student pilots at an institution in Vereeniging, were allegedly snatched from a club in Primrose, Germiston, on 14 May 2022 and their rented vehicle was found abandoned along the R59 route," he said.

Netshiunda said the two people arrested - Jonathan Swart, 35, and Ronz Matthew, 49 - appeared in the Vereeniging Magistrate's Court on Monday, on charges of kidnapping and extortion.

They were remanded in custody.

They are expected back in the dock on 20 June 2022.