Southern Division police are confirming that only two officers were arrested during yesterday’s operation that led to the rescue of Natalie Pollonais.
Contrary to reports last night that a corporal attached to the Highway Patrol Unit was also held, a senior officer said this was not true.
The senior officer said that the person in question even contacted his seniors to express his hurt at being labelled as a kidnapper.
According to the police, San Fernando CID was working in tandem with other operational units on Monday night.
When the Organised Criminal Intelligence Unit and the Anti Kidnapping Units retrieved Pollonais in El Socorro, San Juan and arrested a suspect, a team comprising ASP Ramdeen, Insp Gajadhar, Cpl Bacchus, Cpl Pulchan, PC George, PC Lange, PC Moses and PC Acevero moved on the two constables.
The constables were on duty at the La Romaine police post at the time of their arrest.
They were being held at an undisclosed location yesterday.
Guardian Media understands that over the weekend, the errant officers were being monitored while other intelligence units gathered information about Pollonais’ location
Pollonais, 49, of Palmiste, is the wife of Jason Pollonais, a director of the South Oropouche-based Inland and Offshore Contractors Ltd (IOCL)
Last Thursday, she disappeared after visiting the Central Athletic Club gym and some stores at C3 Centre.
CCTV footage showed she left in her BMW 5308 hybrid sedan around 11.30 am. Her husband reported her missing when she did not return home.
On Thursday night, San Fernando CID and Southern Division Task Force found her car abandoned in the parking lot of an apartment building at Cypress Hills, Union Hall.
Also on that night, her kidnappers contacted her family and demanded a US$300,000 ransom for her return.
The kidnappers allowed her to speak to her husband as proof she was alive. However, they hung up when the issue of the currency of the ransom arose. A source said that the family had gathered the money and was prepared to pay.
Around Monday night, the OCIU and AKU conducted surveillance on a white Nissan AD Wagon that went to a hotel in Caroni and left minutes later.
The wagon was intercepted several minutes later and Pollonais was rescued.
CCTV footage obtained from C3 Centre had also shown two men wearing tactical police uniforms entering a white Nissan AD Wagon resembling the one she was rescued from.
Intelligence suggested that the kidnappers were moving Pollonais around, the Guardian Media was told.
A tactical unit was deployed and the Wagon was intercepted. A Ford Ranger, which was said to be accompanying the wagon, was found abandoned in St Augustine.
The two vehicles were taken to the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU) in Cumuto for forensic testing.