A Polish woman abducted in South Africa was rescued in a joint police effort and returned home on Monday, Poland's interior ministry has said.

After receiving information about a Polish woman being held for a ransom of EUR 2 million (PLN 8.3 million), Polish police started working with officers in South Africa, the interior ministry cited Polish police chief Jarosław Szymczyk as saying.

Szymczyk said Polish officers were sent quickly to South Africa and were able to rescue the woman and identify her captors, according to the interior ministry.

Szymczyk on Tuesday gave a joint press conference with Interior Minister Joachim Brudziński and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki about the state of Poland’s police department.

Morawiecki said security was a top priority for his government. (vb/pk)