Thomas
Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
AN ELDERLY man and his two teenage children, who were abducted at gunpoint and were on the verge of being executed by members of a prominent drug gang with connections in the United Kingdom, were rescued by a squadron of police, Friday night, in St. Andrew.
Deputy Commissioner in charge of crime, Lucius Thomas, confirmed yesterday that the abduction took place, but declined to make any further comment about the incident.
ARRESTED AND CHARGED
However, Acting Deputy Superintendent Meveral Smith, who led the rescue operation, said a Glock 9-mm pistol and a revolver were seized during the operation. In addition, two men who were left at the house to guard the hostages have been arrested and charged.
The names of the men are being withheld, pending an identification parade which they are scheduled to face later this week. The police said, however, they have already been charged for the illegal guns.
Following the rescue mission, the victims were taken to hospital where they were treated and released. According to the police, all they (victims) wanted to do, was "to go and sleep".
Reports are that the elderly man, his 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son, both high school students, were abducted at gunpoint from their home in Bunkers Hill, Clarendon, on Thursday.
According to the police, their abductors gagged and drove them into Kingston, up to an air-conditioned house near Red Hills Road in St. Andrew. It is further alleged that on their way into Kingston, the abductors stopped in May Pen, Clarendon, where they purchased patties and juice, then removed the gags from the hostages' mouth to allow them to eat.
The Sunday Gleaner understands that the family of three were targeted because another member of the family had a dispute with some gang members.
RANSOM
Reports reaching The Sunday Gleaner are that while they were in the custody of the gunmen, the family member who allegedly had the dispute with the gang members was contacted on several occasions, but each time declined to strike any deal with them. The men were awaiting instructions on carrying out the executions when the police nabbed them and rescued the man and his children.
This is the second major case of abduction in Clarendon since May last year when detectives from the CIB Headquarters in downtown Kingston, intercepted a Camry motor car in the Hope Road area and rescued two men. The abduction was in relation to the disappearance of $400,000 which went missing in a drug deal that ended sour.
