WESTERN BUREAU:
Two men who were abducted at gunpoint in Montego Bay, St. James, last Sunday were set free and their abductors apprehended following a daring rescue mission involving the local police, the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
"A great deal of work was done in a short time. The Area One police in St. James ... should be commended for a fantastic effort," Assistant Commissioner of Police Leslie Green told The Gleaner yesterday.
"The kidnapping was not a random act, as one of the suspects in custody is an acquaintance of one of the victims. In many instances kidnappings have an international slant and we are grateful for the cooperation with our international partners."
Police reports are that the two men, a Jamaican and a Bahamian national, were accosted at a popular Montego Bay restaurant, roughed up and then forcefully taken to Jointwood district, St. Elizabeth, where they were held for over 48 hours by armed men.
The local police got wind of the situation when the kidnappers reportedly sought to collect a ransom for the men's release. With the assistance of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the FBI, a joint initiative was launched to rescue the men.
Safe Recovery
On Tuesday, a police operation in Montego Bay led to the safe recovery of one of the kidnapped men and the arrest of four persons, including a woman of a St. James address.
The second person, who was still being held in St. Elizabeth, was released from a house in Jointwood shortly after. A man who reportedly fled the house
is now being sought by the police. A total of $562,000 believed to be part of, or the sum total of, a ransom that was paid over, was recovered from the house.
The victims of the kidnapping, one of whom had to seek medical treatment for injuries sustained during his ordeal, have since been debriefed by
the police.
