Contractors lured to jobs and robbed

SMALL business contractors from Durban are being lured to northern KwaZulu-Natal under the pretext of work. However, once they arrive in Manguzi, a border town with Mozambique, they are hijacked, held for ransom and robbed.

POST is aware of one incident in which a contractor was killed last week. His body was found in Manguzi on Sunday.

There have been three other incidents involving robbery and kidnapping of which the police are aware. This was confirmed by police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele.

“It is alleged that syndicates are targeting business owners, who will receive a call from a member of the gang requesting a call-out for a quotation. On arrival, the victims are directed to a remote area. Once they arrive at the remote location, they are attacked.”

She said the victims were usually robbed of their belongings and vehicles at gunpoint.

“The location of these robberies is usually far from the main road or the police station and it takes the victims hours to get assistance.”

Most of the vehicles, said Mbele, were taken across the border.

She advised businessmen to arrange to meet potential clients at a police station in the area.

“Police in the area should be consulted to ensure people are not led into a trap and that the call-out is indeed legitimate.”

The latest victim, a Phoenix contractor who works with palisades, said he and his co-worker were held for ransom for six hours by eight men. He asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

“At the weekend, I was called out to do measurements for a bed-and-breakfast facility. We never thought we were being lured into a trap because these men put R2 500 into our bank account for us to travel out there. Who would have thought a scammer would give you money?

“As we approached our destination, a man called us and told us to meet him further up the road. When we stopped, he jumped in the car and greeted us. He then said the place was further up the road and he would guide us. We did not think anything about it, but as we drove I realised something was wrong.

“We drove through trees and soft sand until we arrived and saw two men walking towards us. When my colleague put his hand out to greet one of the men, the man drew a 9mm gun and put it against his head. The same thing happened with me.”

The contractor was told to move to the passenger side of the vehicle and to put his head down, while his colleague was covered with a jacket and placed in the boot of the vehicle.

“It was like a scene from the movies. These guys were p***d off because we had not travelled there in a van. They kept asking us for a van.”

He said they were taken to another area and told to lie face-down on the ground for more than an hour.

“They told us not to worry and they just needed money from our families and we would be released. At first, the men asked for R50 000 (R25 000 for each of our lives) but we told them we did not have that kind of money and after a while they asked for R5 000 each.”

Under pressure to give them the money, the men were forced to call their families.

His colleague called his wife, who deposited the money at a supermarket in Phoenix.

“The thing about this was that even though we were terrified, crying and even praying for our lives, these men did not treat us badly. They offered us cool drinks and lunch. While they were demanding money from our family, they were telling the ladies not to cry. They used words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. They were well trained and patient. You could see it was not their first time doing this.”

Once the money was paid, the pair were told to leave and not to speak to anyone, including the police.

Another contractor from Merebank, south of Durban, was also held up last week.

“We went out with our Isuzu bakkie to do a quote for concrete, supposedly for a new business. When we arrived and met the men, our tyres were slashed. We were also asked to keep our heads down. We were tied to a tree. The men went through our phones and our banking apps and one even asked us to transfer airtime to him. While we were there another businessman was also brought in.”

After about six hours the men were allowed to leave.

Days later their vehicle was tracked to Mozambique.

Chatsworth ward councillor Tony Govender said he was aware a contractor had been killed. He then sent out a message warning business owners to be careful.