Police in the Western Cape have confirmed the 12-day-old baby who was kidnapped in Cape Town at the weekend has been found safely.
A 37-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and is expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court soon.
Baby Mogamat Imaad Shamar was kidnapped at a local shopping mall in Belville on Saturday, June 28.
Provincial police spokesperson, Captain Frederick van Wyk, confirmed the safe recovery of the baby on Monday, June 30.
He said a multidisciplinary crime combating team, comprising the Provincial Organised Crime: Anti-Kidnapping Investigation, Crime Intelligence, Bellville Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, worked tirelessly since a case of kidnapping was registered with Bellville SAPS on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
“Owing to the meticulous investigation and the analytical approach to the information at their disposal, the team pounced on an address in Honolulu Street in Tafelsig on Monday, June 30, 2025, where they found the child and in the process detained a 37-year-old female for kidnapping,” van Wyk said.
The mother and alleged kidnapper were out for a bite to eat in the Middestad Mall in Bellville when the incident took place.
“The mother and the baby were at a local shopping complex in Bellville when she became nauseous. She left the child in the care of a woman who was with her when she went to the bathroom. Upon her return, the mother was unable to locate the woman and her baby. She reported the incident to Bellville SAPS for further investigation,” van Wyk said.
According to information, the woman had approached the mother prior to her giving birth, and she claimed to be working for an organisation that assisted young mothers with counselling and care packages.
