A week after his abduction, Tanzanian young billionaire, Mohammed Dewji has been freed, his family reported on Saturday.
Dewji, 43, was abducted over a week ago outside a luxury hotel in Tanzania. The incident occurred as he arrived at Colosseum Hotel, Dar es Salam for a morning workout. Investigations ensued to find out his whereabouts and circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
The family of the billionaire who is chief executive of METL Group, had offered to reward anyone that could provide details of Dewji’s whereabouts with 1 billion Tanzania shillings (USD 440,000).
It is not clear whether Dewji’s release involved payment of ransom. His net worth is estimated at $1.5 billion by Forbes, making him Africa’s 17th-richest man and its youngest billionaire.
“I have returned home safely,’” the METL Group Twitter account posted.
According to METL, Dewji expressed gratitude towards those who had worked for his release, including the Police.
Dewji was dumped in a field in the early hours of Saturday morning, Tanzania’s Minister for Environment said.
Dar es Salaam’s regional police chief, Lazaro Mambosasa told Associated Press that the abductors used the same car they used to kidnap Dewji, to drop him.
“We found him there physically fit, and we suspect that the abductors are South Africans because he said they were communicating in one of the vernacular from that country,” Mambosasa is quoted as saying.
Since Dewji’s abduction, a dozen suspects have been arrested including the hotel’s head of security.