By Diplomatic Correspondent- The Botswana Police Service (BPS) has made a breakthrough in uncovering a fabricated kidnapping scheme allegedly concocted by a couple in an attempt to extort money from their own family.

According to an official statement released by the BPS, the police in Tutume were alerted to the purported kidnapping incident on Tuesday, where it was claimed that an individual was being abducted by unidentified perpetrators in the Nkange lands area.

“The police investigations have proven the report to be false,” declared the BPS. “The 40-year-old Motswana woman of Makobo village and her 35-year-old Zimbabwean boyfriend, employed at Nkange lands, staged the incident, contacting the woman’s family and demanding a ransom.” Subsequent to the family’s report, the BPS asserted that preliminary inquiries exposed the entire ordeal as a sham from its inception. “The family’s report triggered police investigations, which unveiled the fabricated nature of the incident, leading to the arrest of the purported victim and her boyfriend,” the statement elaborated.

The Motswana woman now faces charges for providing false information to a public service employee, while her boyfriend has been charged with illegal entry into Botswana through an ungazetted point.

As legal proceedings unfold, the woman awaits her court appearance while her boyfriend, implicated in the fraudulent act, awaits deportation.