[www.inewsguyana.com] – In an effort to dispel the confusion surrounding the existence of a Kidnapping Unit, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has confirmed that there is no permanent unit in operation.
The Opposition Political parties had called for the establishment of this unit, however the country’s Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee had noted that such a unit already exists. The Minister refused to go into more details about the unit when he was asked by reporters recently.
The GPF in a statement noted that the Force does not see the need for a permanent unit since the incidences of kidnapping in Guyana is at a very low rate.
To justify its explanation, the Force revealed that over the last five years, there were two such reports in 2009, two in 2010, one in 2011, and none in 2012 and 2013.
“Should a permanent kidnapping unit be in place, it will be highly under-utilised and therefore the posture of the Guyana Police Force to have a number of ranks undergo specialised training and whenever there is an incident, a team/unit is mobilised to investigate under the leadership of the Crime Chief,” the Police statement noted.
According to the GPF, the team/unit is deactivated after the investigations are completed and the ranks return to their respective permanent deployment.
The issue of kidnapping arose following the recent abduction and subsequent murder of Enmore businessman, Rajendra Singh.
Singh, a spare parts auto dealer was kidnapped by two gunmen on April 05 at his Foulis, East Coast Demerara business place. His car was found abandoned in Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara by his wife.
The kidnappers had initially demanded $50M from the family, but reduced it to $25m. The ransom was never paid and Singh was found dead on April 09 with a gunshot wound to his head in the Le Repentir Cemetery in Georgetown.
