– woman still in custody

Police are still looking for two other suspects in last Friday’s kidnapping, while the first suspect who was held could be charged today.

According to sources, the 24-year-old seaman and resident of Louisa Row who is in custody has revealed the names of his two accomplices, who are known characters to the police. However, the men are frequent visitors to a neighbouring country and there are suspicions that they might have already fled Guyana.

Meanwhile, the woman who was held when police swooped down on the North Ruimveldt house also remains in custody as the investigators attempt to ascertain if she was a player in the kidnapping.

Quick work by the police anti-crime unit of the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), assisted by other police ranks, led to the rescue of Accountant Andre Barnes, 26, of Supply, East Bank Demerara, after he was kidnapped by three men who demanded a ransom of $50 million for his release.

It was reported that around 22:00 hrs Barnes was sitting in his motor vehicle PLL 8269 along with his girlfriend outside her home at West Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, Georgetown, when three men, one of whom was armed with a firearm, confronted them and ordered the girlfriend out of the vehicle. The men then placed Barnes in the back seat and drove off the vehicle.

The men drove to an unknown destination where they transferred to another vehicle, subsequently taking Barnes to a house where he was handcuffed. The men then used his cell phone to call his mother and demand that a ransom of $50 million to be delivered within six hours for his release otherwise he would be killed. Two of the men then left Barnes under the guard of a man armed with a gun.

The matter was reported to the police and prompt action by the TSU anti-crime unit led the police to the North Ruimveldt house where Barnes was rescued and the suspect arrested. A 9 mm pistol with 10 rounds wass recovered.

Barnes’s car PLL 8269 was later recovered at Princes Street and Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.