Cedros family pays ransom

Shazam Bodie was allegedly kidnapped at about 9.15 am on April 1, as he waited to cross the street to go into the Point Fortin branch of First Citizens Bank (FCB).

According to Bodie, an Atlantic LNG employee, he was bundled into a car and blindfolded by four masked men. He said he was held captive for about 12 hours. He said his four abductors were later joined by four other men. The men beat him and talked of nothing else but money, he said.

In an interview with Newsday from her home in Cedros yesterday, Shazam’s mother, Joyce Bodie, said she had no idea why anyone would want to target her family.

“We are not wealthy,” she said, adding that she still could not believe such a thing could take place in a community as small as theirs.

The 47-year-old housewife said when her son’s abductors first called and demanded a ransom, her family brushed it off as a prank because it was “All Fool’s Day.”

It was not until the kidnappers called the cell phone of Mrs Bodie’s elder son Nezam, that the family took it seriously. Nezam overheard the kidnappers telling Shazam to “tell your brother to organise some money and bring it there fast.”

Nezam said he was instructed to bring $50,000 or two kilos of cocaine to the basketball ring behind the Point Fortin Junior Secondary School.

He said he made a report at the Point Fortin Police Station, but was told they were short- staffed and could not do anything at the time.

Meanwhile, Nezam said, the kidnappers kept calling him and demanding the money or drugs.

It was only when he heard the men beating his brother that the two CID officers at the station decided to accompany him to the drop-off point. They were also joined by two Trinmar officers.

He said since he had neither the money nor the drugs, one of the officers suggested he pack a bag with clothes to look like the cocaine.

Nezam said his family was eventually able to raise the money and he went alone to the drop-off point at about 5.30 pm. Shazam was given $50 and released in Los Bajos, Palo Seco. “We have now been left with a debt we don’t know how we will repay,” Nezam said.

The Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS) have since been involved in the investigation but no suspects have yet been held. Nezam said the AKS officers assigned to the case have complained that they don’t have the equipment to deal with kidnappings.

Although she has her son back, the distraught mother said she has no idea how she will cope with the situation.

“We are scared. Everybody just crying. We can’t eat, cook, clean, nothing,” she said. She said her children have since been staying with relatives and friends because she and her husband are scared for their lives.

She said she decided to talk about the experience because she was angry that her son was the first kidnapping victim for this year and no one seemed to care. She said the incident had only been reported on one radio station.