Police in Tanzania are reportedly still searching for the 43 year-old Africa’s youngest billionaire, Mohammed Dewji,  after he was kidnapped by masked gunmen in the capital Dar es Salaam.

Dewji, who headed the MeTL Group which operated in at least 10 countries with interests in agriculture to insurance, transport, logistics and the food industry, was snatched as he entered the gym of a hotel in the city on Thursday morning, said an AFP report.

Police said he had no security detail with him when he was abducted.

A BBC report said that police believed two of his abductors were white men, but the identities of the 12 who were arrested by the end of Thursday had not been made public.

Dewji was estimated to be worth $1.5bn.

He was born in Tanzania and studied at Georgetown University in the United States. He also served as a member of parliament from 2005 to 2015.

In 2013 he became the first Tanzanian to grace the cover of Forbes magazine, and was in 2015 named Forbes Africa Person of the Year.

Dewji is also the main shareholder in Tanzania’s Simba FC football club.