Prayers kept me going

Royal Castle franchise holder Wayne Pierre, who was kidnapped outside the Arouca branch of Royal Castle on Sunday night and released in Petit Valley on Monday night, said prayers kept him going.  He said at no time was he ever threatened.

Pierre said the experience had left him a bit shaken up but he insists he will be returning to work next week. However, he intends to be more cautious. Yesterday, he refused to be photographed for security reasons. Pierre, who suffered a cut in the chin while being dragged up a hill leading to the house where he was kept from 10.45 pm Sunday to around 9.30 pm on Monday, said no ransom was paid for his release. Police sources said yesterday they received information that business associates of Pierre paid $400,000 for his release.

The 42-year-old businessman said he is almost sure the house where he was kept was in Diego Martin. He said the drama started around 10 pm on Sunday, while he was walking towards his vehicle in the car park at the fast food outlet. Pierre said he was bundled into his station wagon, blindfolded, and his hands tied. He claimed one kidnapper drove his vehicle in a reckless manner and he was afraid of losing his life. Pierre said the car stopped on a hill and the four kidnappers dragged him up the hill to the house where he was instructed to lie on the floor. Three of the four kidnappers left, leaving him with one man. Pierre claimed he tried to have a conversation with the kidnapper but got little response. He said he was not threatened in any way. Pierre was not given anything to eat or drink during his 24-hour stay with the kidnappers. He claimed he did not sleep on Sunday night and on Monday morning he was not given anything to eat or drink.

On Monday, he prayed for freedom. He became frustrated on Monday evening when he received little or no information from the man who was guarding him. Late Monday night, the three other kidnappers returned and simply told him: “Get up we taking you for a ride.” He said the driver drove for five minutes and he was dropped off in Petit Valley. Pierre managed to remove the blindfold and made his way to the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet at St Lucien and Sierra Leone Road, where he identified himself and telephoned E-999. He was met by officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad who took him for medical treatment and he was later interviewed. Pierre was later allowed to return to his home at Mt Hope Villas. He said yesterday he is certain the kidnappers wanted to make some quick cash. Sources at the AKS said based on the description of the area where Pierre was kept they are hoping to make a breakthrough in that kidnapping.