A 42-year-old Verulam woman has been arrested and is now facing charges of defeating the ends of justice after she allegedly fabricated a hijacking and kidnapping story to be with a lover. The 55-year-old lover has also been arrested and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
The incident, which led to a large-scale search operation using police and private security resources, unfolded on Thursday, August 22.
The woman's husband contacted Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) after receiving a voice note from his wife, claiming she was being hijacked on a back road in Riet River.
Shortly after, he received two location pins from her phone, indicating that she had passed through Pinetown and Westville. Communication then ceased.
Rusa circulated the incident on social media platforms, prompting an immediate response from law enforcement and the public.
Reports soon surfaced suggesting that the woman had staged the hijacking to be with a lover.
The police confirmed that the woman reported a false hijacking and kidnapping case on Thursday and she was traced by the police.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) KZN spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda said:
“The woman claimed to have been hijacked in Verulam and was locked in the boot of her car where she miraculously managed to send two voice note messages to her husband.
“Intelligence uncovered that prior to her imaginary hijacking and kidnapping, the woman had spent some time at a casino,” said Netshiunda.
Police said the woman was eventually found in Newcastle on Saturday by law enforcement officers. She was arrested and charged with defeating the ends of justice for providing false information.
Netshiunda said their investigations traced the woman to an overnight accommodation in Newcastle. He said she handed herself over to the at the Newcastle police station on Saturday, claiming that her kidnappers dropped her on the side of the road.
“Following further investigations, the 42-year-old woman and her 55-year-old boyfriend who party to the orchestration of her fake kidnapping and also assisted her to dispose of her vehicle after spending the night with her, were duly arrested and charged with a case of defeating the ends of justice.
“The vehicle was also recovered,” said Netshiunda, who said detectives from Verulam travelled to Newcastle to transport the woman back to eThekwini, where she remains in custody.
Rusa spokesperson, Prem Balram, said they received several tip-offs about the woman's possible involvement in an extramarital affair.
“Several callers informed officers that the female was involved in an extra marital affair and had faked the hijacking to be with her lover.
“Officers were also forwarded an image of a woman requesting legal assistance in obtaining a divorce,” said Balram.
Balram said Rusa deployed a helicopter on Friday in an attempt to locate the woman's vehicle, a white Suzuki Celerio.
The vehicle was recovered.
The two suspects are expected to appear in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, August 27.
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