Durban woman arrested ‘after kidnapping baby to deceive boyfriend’

According to Rusa, the operation began late on Sunday evening after the mother contacted the Rusa operations centre at about 10pm to report the abduction of her baby.

“Reaction officers circulated the missing child’s information and received 34 tip-offs and leads in the 11 hours leading to the arrest and recovery,” said Rusa.

Leads poured in from across the country, including Pietermaritzburg, Limpopo, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Many tip-offs involved reports of women returning home with newborns and acting suspiciously.

During the early hours of Monday morning, the search was narrowed to the Chesterville area in KwaZulu-Natal.

“Believing the female suspect was in possession of the kidnapped baby and planning to flee the province, Reaction officers blocked entry and exits and kept observation while the Rusa helicopter searched the area for a vague location provided,” said Rusa.

“A woman behaving suspiciously with a newborn baby was spotted. Upon being stopped and questioned by Rusa officers, it was confirmed the baby in her possession was [the missing newborn].

“The woman had to be removed from the area after a mob threatened to kill her.”

She was arrested. The case is under investigation by the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit at SAPS Cato Manor.

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