Deputy director of the Counter Trafficking (CTU) Alana Wheeler says there is nothing to suggest that abducted hairdresser Ria Sookdeo was a victim of human trafficking.
Wheeler said in telephone interview yesterday while the Anti-Kidnapping Unit was the lead agency in Sookdeo's investigation, "what I can say is that from our end, we have not seen anything to suggest that it is human trafficking."
Last Thursday, Sookdeo dropped off the children at the Picton Presbyterian Primary School and drove her red Nissan X-Trail SUV to Picton Estate Drive to turn. That was when a black Nissan X-Trail pulled up behind, blocking her path. Two gunmen wearing tactical clothing bundled her into their SUV and drove off.
Within hours of being abducted, Sookdeo's father, Frankie Rajku�mar, along with other relatives, went to Icacos, Cedros, fearing the 34-year-old woman was a victim of human trafficking since no ransom demand has been made.
Wheeler said the CTU had not seen in any case where locals were taken to Cedros to be trafficked.
"What we do see is Latin Americans coming in through Cedros and being exploited at brothels and different locations in Trinidad. That is not a trend we have seen. It is a not a practice we have seen. There is nothing to us that suggests that it is trafficking. It is a kidnapping right now. That is what is being looked at right now by the relevant respective agencies," Wheeler said.
For this year, Wheeler said the CTU has identified five trafficking victims whose ages range in the 20s and 30s.
Of the five, four were Latin American women, while the other came from a Caribbean country.
She said women were lured to T&T for jobs.
She appealed to citizens, in particularly women, to exercise a measure of anti-surveillance at all times.
"You should be accountable to someone for your movements. As much as possible avoid a routine and change your driving and travel route," she said. –See Page A6