Relatives fear for safety of kidnapped friend of Chadee

Kidnappers who snatched Mitchell Joseph alias “Chico” from his Stone Road, Piparo home on Saturday afternoon, telephoned his wife on Saturday night and told her that they had her husband. No ransom demand was made . Joseph, 40, was snatched from his home around 4 pm on Saturday by four gunmen who shot him in the leg and bundled him into a car. Police investigators have linked the kidnapping to the arrest of a relative of executed drug lord Dole Chadee, who was charged with drug trafficking and possession of arms and ammunition. Joseph was reportedly threatened and accused of leaking information to the police.

On Saturday night, the car used by the kidnappers to transport the victim was found abandoned at Todds Road in Central Trinidad. Investigators believe that the victim is being kept in a forested area. Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad visited the home of the victim yesterday and spoke with relatives. Worried relatives of Mitchell awaited word from the kidnappers yesterday. They were surrounded by friends and relatives who expressed fear over the safety of the kidnapped man. Joseph, a father of three and the owner of two chicken farms located at Stone Road, and Pascall Road was a close associate of Dole Chadee. He set up the chicken farms in 1999 and denied that his boss was ever involved in drugs. Senior officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad said yesterday that they are working on certain leads in the kidnapping and expects to make a breakthrough soon.