Over July and August 2016, three separate reports of individuals being assaulted and robbed during express kidnappings involving Uber taxi services were reported in Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial hub. The near identical attacks point to a developing criminal trend in the country, the hallmark of the incidents being  the use of Uber taxi services. The service allows users to request a taxi via a GPS-linked application on their smartphone that alerts the nearest driver to their location.

Find the rest of this story and more in XL Catlin Global Kidnap Bulletin for October 2016