The businessman and owner of the Patel e Filhos store, a Portuguese-Mozambican of Indian origin, was kidnapped early this Thursday evening at the entrance to his residence in the city of Chimoio, by hitherto unknown individuals.

The spokesman of the corporation said in a press conference that it has already launched its operative lines in order to find the criminals and hold them responsible for the crime. Mateus Mindú assured that everything is being done to return the businessman to his family, although they don't know where he was taken to, nor do they know the kidnappers.

During the interview, Mindú said that "police intelligence in collaboration with the Provincial Criminal Investigation Service are working to clarify the crime," and said that kidnapping is an unpredictable type of crime, so it is very difficult to deal with. Mindú appealed for calm to the victim's family and asked, however, not to give in to blackmail coming from the criminals.

The PRM spokesman said that ongoing investigations indicate that the kidnappers followed the victim from his business establishment, located in the area of SIX, Avenida de Trabalho, in the city of Chimoio, to his residence, a route of almost three kilometers. Meanwhile, due to the incident, the Patel and Sons store closed its doors this Friday morning.