COPS KILL 3 KIDNAPPERSBy STACY MOORE Thursday, October 29 2009
THREE kidnappers were shot dead by police in Carlsen Field, central Trinidad shortly after they snatched jeweller Imran Khan from outside his Mt Lambert home yesterday morning.
For several hours, the Accident and Emergency Department at the Chaguanas Health Centre was cordoned off by heavily armed police as they waited for the arrival of undertakers to remove the bodies of the kidnappers who up to last night, remained unidentified but were said to be in their late teens or early twenties. Police sources said that for this year so far, 28 persons have been shot dead by the police.
According to a police report, Khan had returned to his Fourth Street, Mt Lambert home at about 8.30 am shortly after dropping off his mother at the family’s jewelry store in Port-of-Spain. As he was about to enter the premises, a blue Nissan Almera pulled up alongside the front gate. three men grabbed a startled Khan and dragging him into the vehicle which sped off.
Relatives who witnessed the kidnapping quickly telephoned the police and a combined team of officers under the supervision of ASP Johnnie Abraham from the Central Division Task Force, Anti- Kidnapping Unit (AKU), Crime Suppression Unit (CSU) and the Police K9 unit, swung into action and immediately went after the kidnappers.
Khan would later tell police investigators that while in the car, his hands were bound with a leather belt and he was also gagged. A high speed chase ensued along the Uriah Butler Highway, crossing the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and then onto the Solomon Hochoy Highway in a southerly direction. A Special Anti-Crime Unit (SAUTT) helicopter joined in the chase.
Forty-five minutes after being snatched, Khan was forced out of the car by his kidnappers in the Carlsen Field area who then ran towards a forested area. With the policemen and their canines closing in, police said, the kidnappers began shooting at them. The officers returned fire. Miraculously, Khan was unhurt in the shootout.
When it was over, the kidnappers lay on the ground bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds. The kidnappers and Khan were taken to the Chaguanas Health Centre where doctors pronounced the three kidnappers dead-on-arrival. Khan was also examined and declared unharmed. It was reported that during the chase, two police officers were bitten by the police dogs.
With the media camped outside the Chaguanas Health Centre, armed police officers cordoned off the health centre.
Police officers said two firearms including a Magnum .357 revolver and a home-made shotgun were recovered. Speaking to reporters, Abraham said that the Magnum .357 gun was not the one among a cache of 13 guns stolen from Mi5 Security Company of Woodbrook on Sunday. At about 2 pm, the bodies were removed from the health centre. The bodies were inside white body bags and were placed one on top the other inside a hearse. The bodies were taken to the Forensic Science Centre. Up to late last night, police were trying to ascertain the identities of the dead men by checking their fingerprints with those in the police fingerprint database.
After giving a statement to police, Khan was allowed to leave. He did not speak to reporters and instead was whisked away in a car. Abraham said Khan thanked the officers for saving his life.
The kidnapping left Khan’s neighbours shaken as they recalled that two years ago, a relative of the jeweller was also kidnapped from the family home but was subsequently released.
Residents expressed concern that the kidnapping took place in broad daylight. They are pleading with the police for the implementation of police patrols in the area.
“You work so hard, you pay taxes and it seems that just around Christmas time, kidnappers come out to wreck havoc,” stated a resident who gave his name only as ‘Antonio’.
When Newsday visited Khan’s home yesterday, family members and friends were seen gathered in the front yard but no one would speak on the incident.
The relatives asked for privacy to recover from the traumatic event.
