The terrifying moment when a baby was taken from her shopping cart by her parents as they waited in South African supermarkets – only two weeks after another similar case.
In the footage, a woman aged in her fifties strolls calmly down the aisle in the freezer section of a Cash & Carry store in Port Elizabeth as if shopping.
When she is able to reach the trolley, which has a mother and father aged 23 years old and 28 years respectively, she suddenly reaches out towards the infant.
Within seconds, the child is gripped under the arms of its alleged abductor and whisked from the cart to a “motherly cuddle” by him.
The woman was then taken into custody along with her alleged accomplice. She was later released from the store and walked away with the girl.
The couple then turn around to get frozen food and discover that their little girl had been taken. They scream for help.
Fast-thinking, the father runs to Cleary Park’s main entrance and tells the guards his baby was taken. Then he locks them the doors.
A woman walks up to the father, distraught, and points out that her daughter was being carried by a friend. She claims it is all a joke.
The woman aged in her fifties strolls calmly down the aisle in the freezer section of a Cash & Carry store in Port Elizabeth as if shopping and stretches her arms out to grab the toddler
One second later, the baby is pulled under the arms of the alleged kidnapper and taken out from the trolley.
The parents – who have never seen the two women aged 51 and 56 before – grab their daughter back and the security staff immediately call in the police.
The two women were taken into police custody on suspicion of attempted kidnapping.
Colonel Priscilla Naidu stated that one woman is seen touching the head of the baby after passing by the camera.
“Within seconds, another woman approached the baby and took it away in a flash. The parents were still at their fridges.
The child vanished in seconds.
“As the guard closed the doors, the first woman pointed out that the child was being held by the second suspect. He said they were just joking.”
Quick-thinking dad sprints to Cleary Park’s front door and informs security guards that his child has been taken. He locks the doors. As the doors close, a woman approaches distraught father and points to her little girl being carried around by her friend.
She stated that two women, aged 56 and 51 respectively were taken into custody while they investigate an alleged kidnapping.
Naidu claimed that Naidu and Naidu did not know each others.
This is a shocking coincidence considering that 18 days earlier, a similar incident made headlines in the UK when Danielle Wolff (mom-of-two) posted footage from her store showing her daughter being taken.
Daniella Wolff, mother-of-two was able to place her child in her shopping cart’s seat while she picked out items from her SuperSpar supermarket in Alberton.
As she was about to turn her back and open the glass doors, a man from the shop approached her and took her baby out of the shopping cart.
CCTV captures the butchery assistant pulling the child out of the cart and walking off with him.
Daniella Wolff was the mother of two and had her daughter placed in the shopping basket with her as she chose items from the cold meat refrigerators in Alberton.
As she was about to turn her back to the shop to get the glass door open, an employee at the store calmly approached her and took her baby out of the shopping cart.
In the South African shop, the employee of the store is seen taking the baby from its mother.
Daniella Wolff is a mother of two with Bradley Wolff
Wolff from Alberton can be seen turning her back to place the food into the cart, but she is shocked to discover that Wolff’s eight-month old daughter is missing.
Wolff shouts horror and then quickly turns around to see her little girl being carried by the clerk who was trying not to be seen behind a grocery section.
Wolff ran to the worker and took her baby. He shouted: “Where are you taking her?” Was that what you were going to do?
She posted footage from SuperSpar’s security camera on Facebook, and also gave her account.
She explained, “I’ve got her in my arms. I go to the meat section and place her in the basket to get my hands free. I then bend down to find the item I want.”
‘Within a matter of seconds, someone is watching my girl on video.
“I can grab him from his daughter and tell him what he’s doing to my girl. He has her. It is not funny and not funny, he is smiling and laughing.
“He says he passed the trolley, and that my daughter was up on her arms so he took her to his car. Why is he laughing?” He tells me it isn’t funny.
Wolff from Alberton can be seen turning her back to place the food into the cart, but she is shocked to discover that her eight-month old daughter is missing.
Wolff screams in horror and then quickly turns around to see her child being carried by the worker who tried to leave behind a grocery section. Wolff ran to the store employee, grabbed her daughter from him and shouted: “Where are you taking her?” Was that what you were going to do?
“You shouldn’t touch or take any child. The man approaches me again to demonstrate what my daughter is doing.
He said that she was going with him. Now, I am angry, shocked and even hysterical. Was that what you were going to do?
Wolff called Bradley, her husband who ran to SuperSpar after looking at the CCTV footage and insisted that Wolff report a case for attempted baby snatching.
South African Police Service was called to arrest Mduduzi Thalbaon (staff member), suspicion of kidnapping after they saw the video.
After appearing in court, he was released on bail and ordered to be removed from SuperSpar.
SuperSpar’s spokesperson said that the company had provided CCTV footage to police. The management also agreed to cooperate with authorities during their investigation.
“We are relieved that the reported case of baby theft was stopped by authorities on Sunday.
“We will further investigate the matter and SPAR is reaching out directly to the families to offer counselling or any other assistance.
SPAR will take a zero-tolerance policy towards crime. We will ensure that those responsible for crimes committed in our stores are punished severely to assure customer safety.
South Africa’s crime-ridden nation, where kidnapping and trafficking of children is rampant, has been shocked by the video footage of the attempted kidnappings.