Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Police have called on members of the public to come forward and assist in providing information about the kidnapping and assault of Debe businessman Arshad Mohammed.
Police said yesterday no arrests were made in connection with the crimes and they had no leads. But officers were hopeful that members of the public would come forward with information.
Mohammed’s father, Ashmir Mohammed, said the family has already started getting rid of their possessions as they do not plan to continue living in Trinidad.
“Police have not arrested anyone as yet, and we are still deeply traumatised by this. We cannot live in a place where we cannot relax or do business,” Mohammed said.
Arshad was kidnapped around 10:30 am on Friday after he went to drop his mother, Annie Mohammed, in their garden at Rahamut Trace, Woodland.
Two gunmen tied him up and threw him in the backseat of his Nissan X-Trail before beating him on his head. They took him to a bushy area at Basta Hall, Couva, where they tied him to a tree. A $500,000 ransom was made, but Mohammed escaped before it was paid.
Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal called on the Ministry of National Security to fix the dysfunctional CCTV cameras.
“The police are trying their best, but in the absence of technical resources, CCTV cameras, and political leadership by the sleepwalking Hinds—they are lost,” he said.
He added, “While we can map the routes of criminals, the cameras are not working, and criminals know this. It is difficult to get usable intelligence, evidence, and facial recognition in some way.”
Moonilal claimed the Penal/Debe region had become a hotspot for home invasions and violent robberies.
“It speaks again to the fact that this society is unpoliced and unpatrolled, and the criminals are having their way that they are now into body-snatching,” he added.
In 2022, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that police would get help to catch criminals as Government had spent $80 million to install 2,500 CCTV cameras across the country to give the T&T Police Service an extra boost in its fight against crime.
Guardian Media reached out to National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to inquire if the cameras were working, but calls and messages left for him went unanswered.