A recent Cape Town court hearing exposed the tactics of the Grindr Gang, revealing how three Sowetan men have been using a popular dating app to kidnap and extort their victims.
Mlungisi Vincent Mbutu, Bongani Zulu and Zwelakhe Ngwenya appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court recently.
They were arrested on charges of kidnapping and extortion, and have been linked to similar cases in Gauteng, where Bongani and Zwelakhe previously appeared in court.
On Tuesday, Prosecutor Luzaan Williams stated that they use the same modus operandi.
As reported by News24, the suspects lure users on Grindr (a social networking app for LGBTQ people) to an address under false pretence. They then hold the victims captive until they or family members transferred money to their bank accounts.
This month, a missing 50-year-old man was found at a house in Woodstock after Hawks detectives traced irregular banking activities on his account.
“Upon receiving the information, analysis was made and linking the information to suspicious banking activities and transfer patterns by the suspects to various banks, This led the team to track the hostage’s phone which was active in the Woodstock area,” Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said at the time.
Just a few days earlier, a 45-year-old man was ambushed by two suspects in Bo-Kaap. He was reportedly strangled, tied up, stripped and filmed.
The suspects, who were armed with a firearm and a knife, threatened to kill him and forced him to pay R3 000.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi,
“According to reports the complainant, a male aged 45, met an unknown male at an identified premises in Shortmarket Street, Bo-Kaap on Tuesday 11 June 2024. They were joined by two unknown armed males who assaulted the complainant and robbed him of an undisclosed amount of cash.
“The suspects tied the victim and fled the scene. The victim managed to untie himself and reported the matter to the police for further investigation. Cape Town Central police registered a case of robbery with a firearm for further investigation,” he said.
Three suspects, aged 33 to 37 were arrested. Williams also said the State plans to oppose bail in the interest of the public. The trio is due to appear in court again on the 3rd of July.
Compiled by Ilze-Mari Van Zyl.
First published by Cape Town etc
Also see: Woman’s Tinder date turns into robbery nightmare
