Kidnapping detection rate improves

TRINIDAD and Tobago’s detection rate in kidnapping for this year is 55 percent, more than six percent for the whole of last year, head of the Anti Kidnapping Squad (AKS) Sr Supt Gilbert Reyes said yesterday. This figure, Reyes said, represents a larger percentage than the two percent detection rate in the world. 

He was speaking to 15 retired officers who were on a tour of the newly-refurbished Port-of-Spain Criminal Investigations department (CID). For the year thus far, nine people have been snatched with ransom demands around $17 million.  Families of two of the kidnap victims paid $50,000 and $1 million respectively. At the end of March, the AKS said a total of 16 people had been arrested with six of them being charged.   By contrast, for the corresponding period last year, there were three kidnappings with a total ransom demand of TT$2,850,000 and US$40,000. At this same time last year, TT$300,000 and US$30,000 had been paid. Four people had been charged for the corresponding period.

At the end of last year, the total ransom demand figure rose to TT$41 million and US$2 million.  Six million in TT dollars and US$13,000 were paid by relatives and $127,000 was recovered by law enforcers. Speaking from the AKS office, Reyes said he wanted to praise members of his department, whom he said normally work throughout the duration of a kidnapping. Referring to the kidnapping of psychologist Dr Ronald John, Reyes said it was intelligence and technical assistance from sources that led law enforcers to his rescue.

Intelligence work was also used in the joint police/army rescue operation of eight-year-old Adriana Ramsingh, he said. He added that based on certain information received from another child kidnap victim, they were able to piece things together and rescue Ramsingh from an abandoned shack at Mount D’or. However, Reyes pointed out that there is room for improvement.  He said there is a great need for co-operation from the public. The AKS head said police often get basic information relative to the initial stages of a kidnapping, but that the pertinent information is usually not there.  More often than not, he said, they have to wait on the negotiating phone call before they can make a move. “If the information is gotten earlier, it would help us,” Reyes said. He also said that number plates of the kidnap vehicle are usually changed during a kidnapping.