Victims kept in hole for seven days

For seven days, kidnap victims Kendra Kissoon and her boyfriend Mark Samlal were virtually buried in a six foot hole, tied back to back, and gagged.

They could not move as pouring rain filled the hole and mosquitoes fed on them leaving their faces, hands and necks swollen with bumps and sores. In the hole, which was dug in bushes close to the Piarco Airport they had to stand all the time. The two were released at the Churchill Roosevelt Highway around 9.30 pm on Wednesday.  They flagged down a passing driver who took them to Samlal’s home at Silver Mill Road, San Juan. The two were met by weeping relatives who took them to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where they were treated and discharged.

At Samlal’s home, relatives said that he was in good health and he was being “rubbed down” with a lotion for the mosquito bites. Relatives said that Samlal, who works at MD Marketing with his father, was still in a state of shock and preferred not to be interviewed. He told his aunt Zeena Samlal that when he and Kendra were kidnapped around 7 pm last Thursday, they were bundled into a car, blindfolded and driven to an area close to the airport. He claimed that the kidnappers, who did not harm them, used obscene language and told them that if the ransom was not paid, they would be killed. Samlal claimed that both he and Kendra were then placed in a hole in the ground with their backs against each other. He also revealed that last Thursday night, he heard planes landing and taking off indicating that they were close to the Piarco Airport. On Friday morning, they were fed Crix and soft drinks, exposed to rain and sun.

Samlal said at nights, they were bitten by insects. He said that although he was blindfolded, he knew that they were being guarded by some kidnappers while the others left and returned. Samlal claimed that when Kendra cried, he told her to pray. He claimed that although they were not harmed, beaten or abused by the kidnappers, they were not allowed any special favours and the stay in the hole was very uncomfortable. Newsday learned that the kidnappers were paid a ransom of $100,000 on Wednesday night after relatives negotiated and informed kidnappers that they could not afford the $6 million which was originally demanded. At the 7th Avenue, Barataria home of Kendra, her father Ralph Kissoon was hostile to reporters, and when asked if his daughter was okay he replied, “I guess so.” Kissoon was the person who negotiated with kidnappers during the abduction of his daughter and Samlal. He said that the ransom was raised through assistance from friends and relatives. He is contemplating closing his business, which is a shop, and leaving the country.

Head of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad Snr Supt Gilbert Reyes in a press briefing on Wednesday said that the kidnappings are well-organised and are being carried out by persons interested in earning quick money. National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee said yesterday that new and innovative measures to deal with the spate of kidnappings will be introduced shortly. Kidnap victim Yves Ayoung Chee and Benedict Bharath who were kidnapped last Thursday morning have not yet been released. Relatives had been given a deadline on Sunday to pay a ransom. Damien Schneider, who was kidnapped last Sunday morning, is believed to have been tortured, shot and his body dumped at Waterloo Road, Carapichaima. His body was identified through dental records.