Some time in the afternoon of March 27, a man called Steven Gruzd was abducted and forcibly taken to a criminal hideout at the George Goch hostel in Jeppe. Within hours he was dead, brutally murdered by a ruthless gang.

No-one yet knows how he was lured into the meeting in Corlett Gardens from which he was abducted, or what the criminals demanded of him. What we do know is that we live in a society where abduction and extortion are becoming increasingly common.

Gruzd was a gentle person — calm, agreeable and funny. He was an intellectual, a family man, a Scrabble champion. An expert in international relations, he was a senior figure at the SA Institute for International Affairs at Wits University. He leaves behind his broken-hearted family and a devastated community. His funeral at West Park cemetery drew thousands of mourners from many walks of life, all utterly shocked by his murder.

The astonishing thing about Gruzd’s abduction is that he was traced in under 18 hours. The appalling thing is that it was already too late. Once the alarm was raised, community security organisations worked with police, including metro police, to trace him.

They used electronic data to track his vehicle and another vehicle, which they located in Jeppe at 4am. They arrested five occupants, one of whom led them to his body at the George Goch hostel. This is impressive policing and a great example of a public-private partnership using sophisticated technology to counter violent crime.

But it comes after the fact. The larger part of the solution is to confront the criminal gangs and uncover their hideouts.

This is reminiscent of parts of Latin America, including Mexico and Colombia, where kidnapping and extortion have been a major problem and have led to the flight of both capital and skills. Abduction is a crime that will cause talented young people to leave the country in droves

This is not the first time the George Goch hostel has been associated with violent crime. Like many other hostels, it is overcrowded and poorly managed, a haven for criminals. The nearby Denver hostel has also been implicated in crimes related to kidnapping and extortion.

The hostels are in some senses like hijacked buildings. They seem to exist outside the laws and institutions that govern our society. They are spaces in which guns and gangs and the proceeds of criminal activity can be hidden.

While many of the rooms in the George Goch hostel house ordinary people who are simply looking for affordable housing, others are a cover for violent crime. As with hijacked buildings, it is likely that the leaders of these gangs have links to the state in the form of corrupt police and local or provincial government officials.

Kidnapping and abduction are starting to take root in South Africa, and especially in Johannesburg. This is reminiscent of parts of Latin America, including Mexico and Colombia, where kidnapping and extortion have been a major problem and have led to the flight of both capital and skills. Abduction is a crime that will cause talented young people to leave the country in droves.

If we want to avoid this scenario, we need to act fast, and the place to start is the George Goch hostel. Hostel residents have repeatedly called for police action, pointing to parts of the hostel that house guns and criminals. The hostel is owned by the Gauteng province. Do they know who lives on their property and under what circumstances?

South Africa is already a risky place to live. We cannot afford this type of crime if we have a hope of retaining a skilled workforce or providing a decent quality of life. To borrow from WB Yeats, we cannot allow another rough beast to emerge, slouching towards Jeppe to be born. Steven Gruzd’s horrific murder should set alarm bells ringing loud and clear.

• Bethlehem is an economic development specialist and partner at Genesis Analytics. She has worked in the forestry, renewable energy, housing and property sectors as well as in local and national government. She writes in her personal capacity.