Democratic Republic of Congo 19 days ago by a kidnapping ring has been freed, Kinshasa police said Monday.
Hermnani Ritesh, who operates a travel agency, was freed on Saturday by security forces and three people were arrested, said police spokesman Colonel Pierre-Rombaut Mwanamputu.
The kidnapping ring was comprised of four men from Namibia, Mozambique, Cameroon and DRC who had demanded a ransom of $2 million for Ritesh’s release.
“It’s
the first time that this type of kidnapping” for ransom had occurred in
Kinshasa, Mwanamputu said, adding that police were still searching for
accomplices on the run.
The charge d’affaire at the Indian Embassy
in DRC praised the police for the “happy end” to the abduction, and
said he hoped others involved would be “arrested quickly”.Although rare in the capital, kidnappings of both Congolese and foreigners are fairly common in eastern parts of the vast central African country, which has been wracked by armed conflict for over twenty years.
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