The victim was ambushed by four people with firearms in front of his establishment while selling construction material.

The police said the four armed men dragged the victim into his own vehicle and sped off.

They abandoned the victim's car in another area of the municipality and transferred him into another vehicle and drove around the greater Maputo region while demanding money in exchange for his freedom.

But they abandoned him less than 5km from where they had abducted him, with the police in pursuit. The men took away the victim's mobile phones.

Herinques Mendes, spokesman of the police's criminal branch Sernic, said they were tipped off by a relative of the victim about the incident which helped assist in his rescue.

"As soon as Sernic became aware of the incident, operational lines were activated in order to first rescue the victim alive and identify the suspects," he said.

Kidnapping for ransom is common, particularly in Mozambique's major cities and towns. The victims are often businessmen or their relatives.