Search continues for business owner abducted in Sidwell

A man who was abducted outside his fish and chips shop on Friday is still missing.

Neal Ah-Tow, 59, was snatched by five men at 7.15am as he was about to open the store, Neal’s Fish and Chips, in Crichton Street, Sidwell.

It is understood the armed suspects, driving a silver Chevrolet Cruz, forced him into the vehicle and drove off.

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba said yesterday that the investigation was ongoing.

“As per the latest information available to us, the matter is still under investigation,” Fumba said.

“We will keep [the public] updated, as we always do.”

According to Fumba, no ransom has been paid so far.

The store was closed at the weekend.

A woman living next door said the family was sick with worry.

“I just phoned the family now and they don’t want to speak to the press as yet,” the woman, who declined to be named, said.

“The kidnappers haven’t made contact with the family so far.”

The man is the fourth person known to have been kidnapped in the Bay since late January.

Subcontractor Godknows Chavazhinji, 34, was abducted in Somyali Street, Wells Estate, at about 2pm on January 23.

Hours later, business owner Zahir Bayit, 54, was shoved into a vehicle as he exited his hardware store in Motherwell in a spine-chilling incident caught on CCTV.

In the three-minute 35-second video, viewed by The Herald, Bayit is seen leaving the store at 5.11pm wearing an orange kurta and heading towards his car.

Suddenly, a silver SUV pulls up and a group of men emerge, firing shots in the air.

They then push Bayit into their vehicle and speed off.

Bayit was released four days later after his family reportedly paid a R1m ransom.

Battered and bruised, Chavazhinji was eventually dropped off along Durban Road, Korsten, the day after he was abducted, and told to make his way to a bank to open a new account because his funds had been frozen.

As he stepped into the bank, police arrived.

No ransom was paid for Chavazhinji, though ransom demands ranging between R3,000 and R100,000 had been made for his safe return.

This month, a 50-year-old woman was snatched outside her North End business and bundled into the back of an Audi.

A ransom of R4.5m was demanded for her release, but no money was paid.

The woman, petite in stature, managed to break free the next day.

She was found in Motherwell before being reunited with her distraught family.

Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee said there was a clear spike in kidnappings in the Bay.

“It’s a problem,” Abramjee said, adding it was nothing more than a money-making scheme.

“There are many copycat gangs at work.

“On average, we now have 50 kidnappings in SA every day.

“Express kidnappings are also on the rise.

“These criminals want to make a quick buck,” he said.