Kidnappers: $10,000 in 15 minutes, or else

Andy Moses, 40, of Claxton Bay and Bernard Baptiste, 56, of Mayaro were abducted on Wednesday night while they were both repairing a car under Moses’ home. They have since returned to their families.

“Around 3.45am, they called from Bernard phone and say they wanted $10,000 in 15 minutes or else,” said the relieved but shaken Murica Moses in an interview with Newsday outside their home yesterday afternoon. “I told them it had no way for me to get $10,000 in 15 minutes and they hung up on me.” Moses was at home yesterday, said Murica, but sleeping after the night’s traumatic experience. But she related the story as told to her by her husband. Murica said Baptiste and her husband __ a supervisor for an off-shore company and the owner of a trucking business __ were repairing a faulty fuse on a car in the open area under their house when two men with guns ambushed them. She said the men jumped out of a car which stopped at an electricity pole not far away and ran up on them.

“He told me he had just finished putting in the fuse and when he raise up, the gun was already to his head.” Upstairs with her three young daughters, Murica locked all the doors and called the police as the men ordered her husband and Baptiste into the very car they were repairing before speeding off with them.

After calling the police, Murica said she called her husband’s phone several times and realised it was turned-off. “But they were turning the co-worker’s phone on and off and answering ever so often and we kept saying ‘doh kill them, doh harm them’ and they kept hanging up.” Murica said she asked to speak with her husband but was denied. And at about 3.45 am, they called from Bernard’s phone and said they wanted $10, 000 in fifteen minutes or else they would have killed him.

Murica did not pay any money, but somehow the two men were able to escape their captors.

“They beat up and tied up the co-worker with shoelaces because like he was giving them trouble,” said Murica.

“But they did not tie up my husband because he was not giving trouble.” But at about 8.30am on Thursday morning, her husband called her from a stranger’s home in Caparo to say they had escaped.

“They took them to something like a camp in a forest in Carapo. My husband said he called to them to say he needed to pee and got no answer, so he freed Bernard and they walked out of the forest in the direction of the sun until they reached the house.” Murica commended the Couva police for their quick response time and professionalism.

Her husband was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility and then taken to the Couva Police Station for questioning.

Murica said her family has not yet come to terms with what occurred and they are planning to install cameras on their home to increase their security.