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alexk
Guest
Two brothers and three foreign nationals from the Dominican Republic have been detained in relation to the kidnapping of a 23-year-old Venezuelan woman.
According to a release from the T&T Police Service (TTPS) Public Affairs Unit yesterday, the victim, who resides in Chaguanas, was abducted on Sunday afternoon. The victim’s friends only reported the incident to police on Wednesday morning after they received ransom demands from her alleged abductors.
However, the alleged kidnappers did not demand money for her safe return but requested information on two other foreign nationals they claimed owed them money.
Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit led by Senior Supt Ajith Persad and Insp Nicholas Thomas were assigned to investigate.
Within hours of receiving the report, detectives made a breakthrough when they received information that the woman was being held captive in south Trinidad. Around 1 am on Thursday, the officers executed a search warrant at a house at Quarry Road, Morne Diablo, where they found the woman being guarded by two brothers, aged 33 and 30. The brothers, who both claimed to be fishermen, were arrested and detained.
The victim was taken to hospital for a medical examination, as she alleged she had been sexually assaulted by her captors. Investigators then went to several houses in central Trinidad where they arrested a 20-year-old man and two women, 32 and 26, all from the Dominican Republic, who they believe enlisted the brothers to assist with the abduction.
All five suspects remained detained at different stations in central and south Trinidad up to late yesterday as police continued their investigation.
The T&T Guardian understands that the unit enlisted the help of Spanish translators to interview the foreign suspects and the victim. Police sources said Immigration Division officials have also been contacted to assist in determining the immigration status of the foreign suspects.
ASP Anderson Pariman, Sgt Brian Nixon, Cpls Hosein and Ramcharan from the AKU are continuing investigations.