Mozambique’s most-wanted serial kidnapper, known by the pseudonym Dollarman, was shot and killed during a police operation in Kempton Park in the early hours of Thursday, 4 September 2025.
Wanted kingpin fatally shot
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), Dollarman was confronted by members of the SAPS Anti-Kidnapping Task Team near the R21 freeway on Wednesday evening.
A shootout followed, leaving him fatally wounded.
Police confirmed that the operation was linked to the rescue of a businessman of Indian origin who had been kidnapped on 23 July 2025.
The victim was found in Alexandra inside a shack shortly after midnight, hours after the Kempton Park shooting.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the man had been safely reunited with his family following the suspect’s death.
Dollarman’s criminal profile
Investigators described Dollarman as one of Mozambique’s most notorious kidnapping masterminds. He was listed on Mozambique’s SERNIC wanted persons database and was also the subject of Interpol arrest warrants.
In South Africa, he was linked to at least nine criminal cases, including five kidnappings for ransom, as well as housebreaking, hijacking, theft, and the possession of unlicensed firearms.
Brigadier Mathe confirmed that a warrant of arrest had already been issued for him before Wednesday’s operation.
Mozambican authorities identified Dollarman in August 2024 as one of three nationals running cross-border kidnapping networks from within South Africa.
According to Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service, Dollarman and his associates were behind a wave of kidnappings targeting businessmen, particularly those of Asian origin, in both South Africa and Mozambique.
Business communities in Mozambique have long voiced concerns about the threat, with over 100 families reportedly leaving the country in recent years due to safety fears.
SAPS crackdown on kidnappings
The SAPS Anti-Kidnapping Task Team has intensified operations against ransom gangs. Since July 2021, more than 337 suspects have been arrested and 146 illegal firearms seized in related cases.
In the past week alone, under Operation Shanela, police said they arrested more than 14,700 suspects for crimes including murder, rape, and kidnapping, while recovering 163 unlicensed firearms.
