14 held in islandwide exercise

AN ISLANDWIDE exercise Satur-day night netted 14 people, but the country’s most wanted man, Sheldon “Skelly” Lovell was not among the lot. The 14 were picked up in various parts of the country for traffic and narcotic offences, senior officers told Newsday. The arrest of the 14 is a part of the latest anti-crime initiative co-ordinated by Acting Commissioner of Police, Everald Snaggs. Exercises in the country’s nine divisions will continue, police said. Lovell, 32, along with two other men identified only as “Gumbo” and “Fruity” are wanted by the police in connection with the July 17 kidnapping of teenagers Yves Ayoung Chee and Benedict Barrette at Marli Street, Newtown. The whereabouts of the three remained unknown up to late yesterday.  Officers of the Anti Kidnapping Squad (AKS) said they have intensified their search for the three.

Warrants of arrest charging the men with the teenagers’ kidnapping were issued and announced at a media briefing last Tuesday. Lovell has since contacted a Port-of-Spain attorney, indicating his willingness to surrender, possibly today. The Crime Stoppers is offering a $100,000 reward for Lovell. The figure was increased from $25,000 because of his alleged involvement in other kidnappings.