Fisherman executed in Central canefield

A 39-YEAR-OLD fisherman was found dead in a canefield in Orange Valley, Waterloo, yesterday with gunshot wounds to the head. Police believe the murder of Zavid Khan of Waterloo Road, Carapichaima, was drug-related. The execution-type killing has sent the murder toll to 58 for the year. According to a police report, about 9 am yesterday a man riding his bicycle through a canefield road, off Waterloo Road, saw the body at the side of the road. The body, clad in a white jersey, black jeans and sneakers, was found a short distance from Khan’s residence.

A party of policemen headed by Supt Barnett Mayers and including ASP Terry Archibald, Insps Blackman and Herbert Kirk along with police officers from the Couva CID and Freeport Police Station, visited the scene. District Medical Officer  Dr Vishnu Jeelal examined the body and ordered its removal to the Forensic Sciences Centre in Port-of-Spain for an autopsy. Police investigators said yesterday that Khan was known in the area as a drug user.

When Newsday visited the family’s home yesterday, Khan’s eldest brother, Farouk, was sitting alone outside the family’s house. He told Newsday his brother was last seen around 2 pm at home on Sunday and was in good spirits. He said Khan, who was a fisherman, was not married and had no children. “I am not sure as to why anyone would want to kill Zavid. He was such a kind-hearted person, who worked very hard out in the high seas of the Gulf of Paria,” Farouk said. Another relative described Khan as a giving person and one who was loved by all. Sgt Lumy of the Couva CID is investigating.