Government has sought help from Interpol, the international police organisation, with the alleged kidnapping of six T&T nationals in Venezuela.
The Ministry of National Security said in a media release that the investigation “is at a very sensitive stage. Accordingly, details and specific information surrounding the circumstances of this matter cannot be provided at this time.”
There were reports said that one of the fishermen detained last Sunday had been released after a ransom had been paid.
The men, identified as Jude Jaikaran, 16; brothers Jason, 38, and Jerry O’Brian, 36; Ricky Rambharose, 35; Brandon Arjoon, 29; and Linton Manohar, 36, were seen in a photograph that has been widely shared on social media sitting on the floor surrounded by men pointing machine-guns at them. The photograph had been sent to the men’s relatives on Monday.
Earlier this week, Police Commissioner Gary Griffith said they were investigating the kidnapping of the six fishermen allegedly by Venezuelan nationals but would not comment on whether a US$200,000 ransom had been demanded.
“We at the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service are doing all that is required. It is a very difficult situation. Initially, reports are that they (those kidnapped) were actually outside of our waters when it is they were actually held by these individuals,” he said.
The kidnappers had reportedly given the men’s relatives until Friday to pay the ransom or the hands of the fishermen would be chopped off.
The Ministry of National Security, which said in the statement that it had no jurisdiction, urged commentators to be “cautious in their utterances and condemnation of how the matter is being handled and the circumstances surrounding the matter as they are not privy to the facts and intelligence of this matter.”
National Security Minister Stuart Young said citizens “should be aware of the risks of leaving our territorial waters and venturing into the territorial waters of other countries where we have no jurisdiction.
“The information surrounding this matter is that the Trinidadian individuals involved were abducted in Venezuelan river tributaries within the mainland of Venezuela,” he said.