Accused in Grindr kidnapping, extortion case abandon bail application
Mlungisi Mbuthu, Bongani Zulu, and Zwelakhe Ngwenya are accused of using dating app Grindr to lure unsuspecting targets before extorting them for money.
Suspects of the 'Grindr Gang', an alleged kidnapping syndicate targeting gay men. Picture: Ntuthuzelo Nene/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Three men accused of kidnapping and extorting gay men in Cape Town have abandoned their bail application, following a brief appearance at the Cape Town Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The trio was arrested in July for allegedly holding a 50-year-old man hostage in Woodstock.
Mlungisi Mbuthu, Bongani Zulu, and Zwelakhe Ngwenya are accused of using the dating app Grindr to lure unsuspecting targets before extorting them for money.
It’s believed they committed similar crimes in Gauteng, where there are pending warrants of arrest for them.
The three men, from Soweto, are facing six charges of kidnapping and extortion, and not seven as initially indicated.
The incidents allegedly took place in the Cape Town CBD, Woodstock, Camps Bay, Durbanville, and Brackenfell.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila: "Initially we had seven, but now they've been dropped to six because the seventh one there was a negative identification result."
The case has been postponed to 15 October for further investigation, which is expected to include digital data analysis to assist the State with adding cybercrime charges against the accused.