Kidnapped Eastern Cape man found

Hilton Wicks was kidnapped on Friday. Photo: Facebook

Hilton Wicks was kidnapped on Friday. Photo: Facebook

Published Mar 27, 2023

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Cape Town - The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has confirmed Hilton Wicks who was kidnapped in the Eastern Cape has been found.

Wicks, 24, was snatched during the early hours of Friday, March 24.

The former head boy of Kingswood College in Makhanda was alleged to have last been seen in a white VW Polo with his alleged kidnappers.

According to the provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, he was found on Monday morning.

“He has been found. He was dropped at the Kei bridge. The investigation into the kidnapping continues,” she told IOL.

Wicks’s kidnapping sparked fear in the Eastern Cape as his snatching came less than 10 days after a biokineticist was kidnapped in Gqeberha.

Riana Pretorius was snatched in broad daylight from Nelson Mandela Bay in one of the area’s busiest streets on March 16.

She was kidnapped outside a medical practice in Newton Park and stuffed into a white Toyota Corolla which was discovered hours later.

One suspect was arrested and a firearm seized.

Hours later police managed to recover the vehicle used in the kidnapping.

A ransom demand of R2 million was made and two suspects were arrested since her kidnapping.

One suspect remains at large.

Mgolodela confirmed Pretorius was home safe.

It remains unclear what the circumstances of her return were.

She was found during the early hours of Friday.

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IOL