Ukrainian kidnap victim reunited with her family
|Published
RELEASED: Anichka Penev, 35
The Ukrainian mom who was kidnapped has been reunited with her family after she was released over the weekend.
After a week-long search for Anichka Penev, police have confirmed that she was home.
The 35-year-old vrou was kidnapped on September 29 as she arrived at Nioro Plastics factory in Blackheath, where she works.
In the dramatic kidnapping that was captured on CCTV, the brave Penev was seen fighting off her attackers as they grabbed her from her larney Audi R8 sports car.
Sources claimed her kidnappers had demanded R5 million for her release but it is unclear if a ransom was paid. It is believed that she was held captive in a house in Khayelitsha.
Police spokesperson warrant officer Joseph Swartbooi says: “This office can confirm that the 35-year-old woman who was kidnapped on Thursday, 29 September, at around 10.05am in Ipswich Road, near Saxdown Road, Blue Downs has been safely reunited with her family on Friday.
“The circumstances surrounding the kidnapping are still under investigation.”
According to a close friend, who asked not to be named, her family were overjoyed with her return.
“At this stage, we don’t have any details about where she was kept or how her release was negotiated, but we know that she was not physically harmed,” the friend says.
Last week, Penev’s friend pleaded with her kidnappers to look after her as she suffers from various illnesses.
“She has gone for medical examinations and the doctors are attending to her health,” the friend says.
“We are not sure if she was given her medication or not but for now we are just happy that she is home and alive.
“Her children are overjoyed at her return and they are very young and need their mother. Some things are still sketchy but we are glad that she is home.”