Two more victims of a gang preying on men looking for love on Grindr have come forward, as three men who were arrested in Woodstock for kidnapping and robbery appeared in court on Tuesday.
Mlungisi Vincent Mbutu, 37, Bongani Zulu, 36 and Zwelakhe Ngwenya, 25, allegedly lured three gay men they had catfished on dating app Grindr before robbing them.
On June 14, the Hawks closed in on the kidnappers after they abducted a 50-year-old man who was subsequently rescued.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said they had received information, and linked it to suspicious banking activities of the suspects.
“This led the team to tracking the hostage’s phone which was active in the Woodstock area.”
It is alleged that on 11 June, they had robbed a gay man whom they tied up and forced to call his relative and demanded money. They got away with R3 000.
Authorities confirmed that another complainant had since come forward.
Yesterday the three accused who are originally from Soweto appeared in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on charges of kidnapping, extortion and robbery with aggravated circumstances.
State prosecutor Luzaan Williams said they were in possession of the bail information but were not sure if Mbutu was using his real name.
“The State has received two further matters of kidnapping, three extortion charges and robbery with aggravated circumstances.
“The investigating team has been inundated with more complaints coming forward after seeing that an arrest was made. The State is in the process of investigating the matters so a provisional charge sheet has been drafted.”
The State will oppose bail for all three accused as they are considered flight risks and the matter was serious.
“There would be public outcry should they be released.”
According to the bail information Mbutu has no pending matters, convictions or warrants, while Ngwenya and Zulu are out on bail in a pending matter of kidnapping and extortion in Johannesburg.
