A 47-year-old Phoenix woman, who stands accused of faking her own kidnapping and wasting police resources by leading law enforcement on a wild goose chase, has been released on R3000 bail following her appearance at the Verulam Magistrate’s Court, on Wednesday.
Firoza Beebee Joseph was arrested last week, after police investigations revealed that she had allegedly staged her own kidnapping and demanded a ransom of R2 million from her businessman husband. The news of her alleged kidnapping was widely circulated on social media as appeals for assistance in finding the popular petrol station owner came in.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: “It is alleged that the woman had left the business premises to use a restroom at her home which is situated a short distance away. A few moments later her husband received a phone call from her, reporting that she had been kidnapped and pleaded with him to deposit an undisclosed amount of money for her release. Later on the husband received another call from a man who threatened to hurt the woman if the money was not paid.”
According to reports, Joseph was kidnapped on Clayfield Drive in Phoenix on Monday afternoon, 3 April. Sources familiar with the investigation revealed to the Phoenix Tabloid that after hearing his wife “distressed”, the husband, Dillion Joseph, drove around the Clayfield area, “to see if he could spot her vehicle.”
It is believed that he located her abandoned vehicle on the roadside. “He further claims (that he) received calls and a video where an amount of R2 million was demanded. The caller appeared to be an African male,” said the source.
The source further said: “Investigations revealed that a gold coloured BMW had stopped on the main road at the time that she had allegedly been taken. It is believed that the BMW belonged to an African male who is a very close friend of Firoza and had allegedly visited the service station on the day that she was kidnapped.”
“It has also been reported that Firoza had also claimed that she was kidnapped in May 2021 and that the people who held her demanded R30 000. Dillion allegedly deposited the amount into her account, after which she was allegedly dropped off outside SAPS Durban Central. The matter was allegedly not reported to the police.”
“It is believed that Firoza is a pathological gambler and the husband admitted that she gambles up to R40 000 per night. In several calls that followed, she insisted that her husband deposit the ransom money into her account. Her husband also claimed that it was possible that Firoza alluded to him loading the ransom money into her casino card.”
Following intense police investigations it is reported that Joseph was found at a guesthouse in Pietermaritzburg with her jewellery, which she claimed was taken by the kidnappers, inside her handbag. It is further alleged that there was video footage of the woman gambling at a casino in Pietermaritzburg.
Col Netshiunda said shrewd police investigations revealed that the woman had faked her own kidnapping and was duly charged with perjury. “Police are sending a strong warning to anyone who is contemplating to fake their own kidnapping for any reason or waste state resources by opening false cases that they will be met with the flaming wrath of the law. Kidnapping is not a matter to joke about and police have been working hard and stretching resources in a quest to prevent kidnapping which had seen a slight increase of late,” he added.
Joseph is expected back in court on 7 June.
