Days after cop held —

Days after a Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB) policeman was arrested at his Valsayn home in connection with the kidnapping of Princes Town businessman Ramesh Mahabir, he (Mahabir) was found by police unharmed at Wharf Trace in Maracas/St Joseph yesterday.

Mahabir, who operates a used- car business in Couva, was snatched last Friday and a $2 million ransom demanded for his safe release. The policeman, who is on suspension pending the outcome of an unrelated matter, was arrested over the weekend at his home.

According to reports, officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Squad (AKS), working on information, went to a bushy, lonely area at Wharf Trace at about 3.30 pm where they found the businessman handcuffed and lying on the ground.

The father of two who hails from Matilda Road in Princes Town could give police only scant details saying he was blindfolded and fed tea by members of a religious sect while in the bushes at Wharf Trace.

He also said that after a helicopter flew overhead and sounds of dogs barking was heard on Sunday, he was moved to another area in Wharf Trace where he was abandoned. Mahabir was referring to a police exercise in that area on Sunday which was mounted in an attempt to locate him.

He was subsequently taken by police to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope where he was medically examined by doctors and sent home. Police sources said the investigation into the kidnapping was ongoing.

Mahabir, was kidnapped outside his Couva business place last Friday by two armed men who pretended to be customers. He was forced into a car which sped off. Sources would not say if a ransom was paid.

Meanwhile, the officer who was held in connection with Mahabir’s kidnapping remains in police custody and is still being questioned. Mahabir is the second person to be kidnapped this year.

Efforts to interview Mahabir or his family were futile.

AKS officers are also continuing investigations into another kidnapping involving another foreign-used car-dealer, who up to yesterday remained in the custody of his kidnappers.

Officers said no one knows the whereabouts of Nakayama Foreign Car Imports director Joey Alexander. He was kidnapped last Thursday after dropping off his girlfriend at her David Street, St Helena home. One million dollars has been demanded for his release.

(See Page 4A)