Beach terror

Three men were arrested last night in connection with the terror attack which took place on the Manzanilla beach on June 24. An arrest warrant has been issued for the fourth suspect.

According to a police report, at about 2.30am on June 24, a 27-year-old housewife of Valencia was liming with a male companion inside his Nissan B13 car which was parked along the Manzanilla beach when four men, armed with knives attacked the couple. The man was dragged out of his car, badly beaten, tied up and then left helpless on the seashore. The men then commandeered the victim’s car and drove the woman to a forested area off Plum Road where she was blindfolded.

Police said the woman was made to endure hours of torture in which she was gang-raped and also buggered repeatedly. After the assault, one of the men stabbed the still blindfolded woman in her throat and then threw her off a precipice 50 feet down onto a lonely, dark beach.

The men, believing the woman to be dead, drove off in her boyfriend’s car. But the woman was very much alive and after walking for several miles came across a village where she spoke to persons who in turn called in the Eastern Division Police.

The woman was taken to the Sangre Grande District Hospital where she was treated and warded in stable condition. Officers later went to the Manzanilla beach and found the woman’s boyfriend still tied up and lying on the sand. Detectives Cpl Allan Khan, PCs Randolph Castillo, Kerry Ramnarine and Ryan Sookdeo commenced investigations. The victim’s car was later found abandoned in Sou Sou Lands, Cunaripo.

Following investigations, officers yesterday arrested three men - two from Sou Sou Lands, Cunaripo and the third from Woodbrook. Police said that based on information given by the three detained men, they were able to ascertain the identity of the fourth suspect and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. PC Ramnarine is leading investigations.

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