The Portuguese businessman kidnapped on 7 October last year in central Maputo was released on Tuesday, 10 March, and is now back home, according to a family source cited by Lusa.
“The businessman, aged 69, who also holds Mozambican nationality, was released on Tuesday and is already at his residence in Maputo,” the Portuguese news agency reported, adding that the source did not provide further details.
Lusa also contacted the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC), which said it was still verifying the information regarding the case.
The kidnapping occurred around 6:00 a.m. on Zedequias Manganhela Avenue, when six heavily armed individuals carrying AKM-type rifles and pistols approached the victim and forced him into a vehicle without licence plates. The group fled immediately without leaving a trace.
Eyewitnesses reported at the time that the man owned a company selling car accessories. Images captured at the scene showed the moment when, after getting out of his car, the businessman was surprised by two of the alleged kidnappers, who dragged him into the vehicle. A third individual joined the group seconds later, and the car left the scene at high speed.
At the time, SERNIC announced the arrest of two men suspected of involvement in the kidnapping. “We confirm the detention of two Mozambican citizens aged between 30 and 46,” said João Adriano, the agency’s spokesperson, during a press conference.
In January, a public petition addressed to the Portuguese authorities requested the cooperation of the Judicial Police (PJ) to help investigate the kidnapping of the Portuguese-Mozambican citizen, who had been missing for more than three months.
“Given the seriousness of the situation, the time that has passed and the anguish experienced by the family and the community, the signatories of this petition consider it essential that the Portuguese State, through the Judicial Police, assess and act within its legal competences, including through international cooperation mechanisms, in defence of a national citizen, as is common in similar situations,” the document stated.
The request came at a time when a three-member team from the Portuguese Judicial Police was in Maputo assisting with the investigation into the death of Portuguese banker Pedro Reis, 56, an executive at Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), led by Caixa Geral de Depósitos.
In June last year, authorities had announced a reduction by half in the number of kidnappings in the capital during the first five months of the year, with four cases recorded compared to eight in the same period of 2024. However, data from the Ministry of the Interior indicated that between 2011 and March 2024, a total of 185 kidnappings had been recorded, with at least 288 people arrested on suspicion of involvement in such crimes.
Source: Diário Económico
