A week after the launch of an ambitious plan to turn around the Nelson Mandela Bay economy through collaborative interventions with government and other roleplayers, organised business was left devastated on Friday when a director of local battery manufacturer Auto X was kidnapped for ransom.

The kidnappers pounced at around 6am on Friday, 19 July 2024, as Kelvin Naidoo (51), the manufacturing and technical director for battery manufacturer Auto X, was driving up to the company's factory in Korsten, Gqeberha, in his black Mercedes-Benz.

Naidoo is also the deputy president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said a Nissan NP200 bakkie bumped into Naidoo's vehicle as he approached the factory on Lindsay Road, Korsten, forcing him to stop. Another bakkie stopped behind him, and five suspects wearing balaclavas got out of the vehicle.

They removed him from his vehicle and forced him into the bakkie and drove off. The suspects left the Nissan NP200 and Naidoo's vehicle at the scene.

The police later discovered that the bakkie had been reported as hijacked in Motherwell in June.

A demand for ransom in return for Naidoo's release was made a few hours later.

The investigation was taken over by the Hawks soon after, but Naidoo remains missing.

Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana from the Hawks said on Sunday that they were working "very hard" to rescue Naidoo unharmed.

"The Hawks can confirm that the ransom money was demanded by the...