-after early morning raid
The investigation into the Rorhema Dookie kidnapping was blown wide open yesterday when police arrested a man in a shack at the Stevedore squatting area, believed to be the place the young woman was held.
Another man was subsequently held in the Ministry of Housing compound a short distance away and the police are on the hunt for at least two other men from the area who are suspected to have played a part in the August 26 kidnapping.
A woman, the common-law wife of the man held in the Ministry of Housing compound, was also taken away for questioning and at press time this newspaper was unable to ascertain if she had been released.
Police swooped down in the Stevedore area around 5:30 am and after searching at least three houses, arrested their first suspect, who according to reports had been the one who was holding Dookie for the kidnappers until she was released a day later. From all appearances, the suspect provided them with some information and implicated the other suspect, who was held while attempting to evade capture.
Senior police officers, including Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, confirmed the arrests of two men in connection with the kidnapping. According to him, investigators have known the location of the house for some time now. Several other persons are also being sought, but Persaud could not say how many.
When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday morning, many residents were tight-lipped and some even denied seeing any of the morning’s activities.
Both men, according to reports, particularly the one who was held in the Ministry of Housing compound, have had numerous brushes with the law.
France is known to be a petty thief while the other man has been linked to more serious crimes.
Some residents of Tiger Bay were relocated to the Ministry of Housing compound by government several years ago until they were able to construct their own homes. Several residents said yesterday that the suspect arrested there was not one of those persons but had moved in with his partner after the original occupant moved out. They stressed that persons who are not supposed to be living there continue to give them “bad name” because they get involved in illegal activities and then go into the area. One resident said that the suspect was one such person.
Recounting the events, one woman said that some time after 7 am, a little boy rode into the compound, shouting “police coming, police coming.” This newspaper was told that shortly after the police arrived and went straight to the house where one of the suspects resided. The man attempted to jump through a back window but was caught by ranks, who ran around the building.
A woman who lives a few doors away recalled seeing three van loads of police in the company of the first suspect. According to her, the woman that he lived with was later told that she had to accompany the police to the station.
Dookie, the daughter of popular businessman Beharry ‘Natoo’ Dookie, was abducted by three gunmen just as she had exited classes from a school on Thomas Street, North Cummingsburg. At the time, she was going to meet her waiting boyfriend Joel Oudkerk. The kidnappers assaulted him before abducting Dookie. She was released the following evening by a woman she thought may have been the girlfriend of one of her kidnappers.
Rorhema had told the media that after she was grabbed she did not know where she was taken but remembered that there were many turns. She was then taken into a building where she was placed in a room which had a mattress and garbage on the floor. Rorhema stated that she was not tied up nor was she hurt by the kidnappers. They told her to cooperate with them and she would be reunited with her father, she said.
Shortly after her release, she recounted that a woman who she believes was a girlfriend of one of the
kidnappers had burst into the room and started questioning her about who she was. She believed that the woman suspected that she was the girlfriend of one of the men.
The ‘Rampin’
shack
Yesterday, several persons pointed out a green shack as the one where Dookie was kept. It was nicknamed the “Rampin’ House,” according to residents. They said the shack, and a smaller one nearby where the first suspect lives, were ransacked by the police during the early morning raid. The shacks are a stone’s throw away from the East La Penitence Police Station.
According to the information reaching Stabroek News, the green shack belongs to another man who is wanted in connection with various crimes but the suspect has been staying in it for some time now. Both shacks were ransacked and the yards were littered with various items, including crockery and pieces of clothing.
The two shacks are located on a dam which is bordered by two trenches and are accessed by unstable wooden bridges. The green shack had signs that someone was staying there recently; there was a pair of boots in the middle of the walkway separating the kitchen from the sitting area. The curtains were blackened by dust and the furniture, including a dinette set, a chair set, a centre table, a hammock, a carpet and a complete bed set, all looked worn. In another room there was an old bed frame and some barrels. There was also a kerosene oil stove on a chair and personal items and clothing strewn about.
Illegal electricity wires were connected to the two shacks.
One man said that about a week ago police searched his home, which is a stone’s throw away from the shacks. It seemed that they had targeted the wrong house. A resident recalled seeing the police around 5:15 am but like other residents she opted to “mind her own business.”
Sources have told Stabroek News that shortly after Dookie was released, the suspect began telling persons in the area that the kidnappers had asked him to look over the girl and that was what he was doing. At the time the girl was pulled out of the house, plans were reportedly being made to drop off the ransom.
Dookie had told the media that while a ransom had been demanded none had been paid.
