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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Dutchman saves himself from nigerian abductors
20:31 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
Coolheaded kidnapped Dutch citizen Edo de Ronde was ‘allowed to live’ by his Nigerian abductors: even palmed the evidence which led to the arrests of six criminal kidnappers… now in court
Aug 25 2011 – RANDBURG, South Africa. Edo De Ronde's boss at European China Centre Rotterdam sent him to South Africa to conduct what turned out to be a 'Nigerian-scam' fake scrap-metal deal. He was kidnapped, handcuffed and held in Olivedale at gunpoint;
He was forced to call his boss to extort ransom-money. The Dutchman was rescued in a joint search effort between the Dutch and South African police after he had sent a ‘help’ SMS-message home to his wife. And the six suspects were caught because De Ronde had managed to palm a receipt at the Olivedale house where he was kept…
2011-08-25 Beeld journalist Jinine Botha and The Cape Times both report that the six kidnappers of Dutch businessman Edo de Ronde 39, were captured because of a receipt the Dutchman managed to grab from his abductors before he was rescued.
De Ronde was kidnapped from his hotel after he flew in from the Netherlands in early July, lured in by what police say is a Nigerian-419 scam. A single-word text message helped save the life of a Dutch national and opened up investigations into a new 419 scam. De Ronde managed to send the word “help” to his wife, and this triggered a massive investigation into his whereabouts. The marketing manager for a major Dutch construction project had arrived in SA to follow up a business venture advertised in a newspaper. The deal was arranged with a locally based, Nigerian-run company. A lucrative R42 million scrap metal deal was on the cards and De Ronde was sent to meet the South African contact. But after meeting his contact in Olivedale, he disappeared. For two days, De Ronde was kept locked in the Olivedale house.
He was finally released and dropped off with just R200 dash and a few essential bits of clothing after the kidnappers were paid $15 000 (R103 000) by De Ronde’s company, who transferred the money into the kidnapper’s UK bank account. De Ronde said it was one hastily sent SMS that helped to save his life. When he arrived at JOhannesburg airport, he was greeted by a smartly dressed driver holding a sign with De Ronde’s name on it. He was immediately driven to the Garden Court Hotel.
Pulled over by two police-uniformed men in marked police car who searched De Ronde:
While en route, the car was pulled over by two uniformed police officers in a marked police car. This was part of the scam. The ‘officers’ searched De Ronde, ordered him to strip and demanded a bribe. Police said investigations revealed that these two officers were so-called 'well-equipped impersonators who were “casing their target” as part of the same scam.
They wanted a weapons deal to conduct a turf war:
The incident would be just the first frightening experience for the Dutch national as the next morning, when he met his contact at a guesthouse in Olivedale, the situation turned vicious. De Ronde’s contact, accompanied by a bodyguard and several other men staying in the house, began talking of how they wanted De Ronde and his company to work out a weapons deal for what was described as a turf war. Then a man armed with a pistol held it to De Ronde’s head and demanded his wallet. They handcuffed him, duct-taped his feet, blindfolded him and dumped him in the corner of the room. De Ronde was terrified, but his captors kept telling him that if he co-operated, he would be kept alive. He was asked to call his company and request a $50,000 advanced deposit for the non-existent deal. De Ronde’s boss, assuming the deal was legitimate, sent a portion of the money through that afternoon.
De Ronde was given some bread and cool drink, but was kept under armed guard after being taken to an upstairs bedroom for the night. It was after the last phone call with his boss that De Ronde managed to text the word “help” to his wife. The message sparked an international investigation into De Ronde’s whereabouts, as his boss and wife contacted Dutch police, who began working with local police to determine where he was being kept. It was shortly after the SMS had been sent that the kidnappers confiscated his phone and unable to switch it off, smashed it to bits.
Once the money was acquired, De Ronde was told he would be “taken out”. (killed). His handcuffs were cut off before he was bundled into a car with another two men. “All I could talk about was my wife and baby. If you talk about family, even these guys are human,” said De Ronde. He convinced the men to instead drop him off at the airport, where he was able to contact his wife and the police. He flew home that Friday night.
According to Hawks police-unit spokesman McIntosh Polela, three of the suspected kidnappers were arrested the next Saturday. Another three Nigerian nationals related to the case were apprehended the following Monday. Four of the accused men – Richard Ogbozor – who is a legal political refugee; Chinedu Ikedi, James Ifemetu and Christiaan Offiah all are Nigerian nationals, who had allegedly been working with two South Africans Nicholas Smith and Tracey Harrop, owners of the house in Olivedale. The two whites deny any involvement in the kidnapping.
The group’s bail application began on Wednesday at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, but the complicated proceedings went slowly as two translators, four lawyers and a seemingly confused investigating officer attempted to unravel the kidnapping plot. The attorney for Smith and Ogbozor, Thokozani Nkabinde, argued that Smith had no idea of the kidnapping taking place, even though he owned and lived on the property in which the Dutch national had been held.
Last month, Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela said De Ronde’s company, European China Centre Rotterdam, had been pursuing a R42 million scrap metal contract and sent him to South Africa to confirm the deal. Nkabinde said Ogbozor had informed Smith that a group of colleagues were trying to conduct a huge scrap metal deal and needed a place for their Dutch contact to stay. When De Ronde first arrived on the afternoon of July 7, Smith had not noticed any problems he said -- and after returning home in the evening, the Dutch businessman had been sitting in the guesthouse’s lounge, eating a chicken dinner, not indicating he was in any danger.
However, investigating officer, Constable Naudé Mathe said this contradicted De Ronde’s statement, in which he claimed to have been handcuffed for most of his time in the guesthouse. “The complainant (De Ronde) had scars on his (wrists), an indication he had been tied up,” said Mathe. Nkabinde responded that a State witness had confirmed in writing that De Ronde’s hands had not been bound.
It was also revealed that several of the Nigerian accused were not legally in the country, but Mathe had been unable to provide detailed information on whether the others were legal. Ogbozor had valid 'political asylum" papers and Offiah was in the country legally, but Ikedi was still waiting for a new residency permit from Home Affairs because his current permit had expired. Mathe had not confirmed Ifemetu’s status, despite its being a key fact for a bail application. Only Smith and Ogbozor told the court their version of the story on Wednesday, before proceedings were adjourned and the application was postponed until September 1. - The Star
Investigating officer constable Naudé Mathe also testified that De Ronde was lured to South Africa under false pretenses: to 'negotiate a R42-million scrap metal deal' on behalf of his company. Earlier that day before his abduction, De Ronde had spoken by phone about the 'transaction' with another of the six accused, a Nigerian who owns a music-club. The court heard that the artist, the cellphone salesman, the club-owner and another Nigerian man, a chef, were at the Olivedale house when De Ronde was threatened and held at gunpoint. He was ordered to phone his boss in China and demand about $50,000 from the man's company. His boss deposited two amounts into a British bank-account before the businessman overseas contacted the South African police.
Mathe testified that it was determined that the other Nigerian accused - a man who sold clothes on the street-curb – had placed the advertisement on the internet and drew up the fake 'scrap-deal' contract which was seen by the businessman in China. Mathe testified: 'the victim could remember street names; and he also took a receipt at the house where he was held in Olivedale. This helped the Falcons (specialised police unit) to trace down the owner of the house where Mr De Ronde was held." The bail application was postponed 1 September while investigations continue. The arrested people all remain in custody.
http://bit.ly/pM00mU
http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Kwitansie-help-om-ontvoerders-vas-te-trek-20110825
http://www.capetimes.co.za/owner-pleads-ignorance-to-419-scam-1.1124810?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot
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