- Kidnapped man grateful to be alive

A St Catherine man is now breathing a huge sigh of relief after he said he was kidnapped and held for two days before being sent back to his family, allegedly after a ransom was paid.

John*, 38, said he was living a nightmare when men snatched him from a garage while he conducted business. He said that he was beaten with an iron pipe as he tried desperately to fight off his attackers. He eventually relented after one of the four armed men hit him in the head with a gun. The kidnappers then allegedly used his mobile phone to call his girlfriend with ransom demands. He told THE STAR that the ordeal has left him completely traumatised.

"A di worst two days of mi life! Right now mi no have any grip in my right hand because one of the man dem damage a nerve ina mi wrist when dem a beat me. If mi never know tae kwon do mi probably wouldn't be alive today," said John, who was taken last Wednesday around 9 a.m. and released to his family on Friday sometime after 5 p.m. John said that the gunmen appeared to be acting on strict orders.

"Di don (leader) tell dem say him want me alive. When mi reach di don him say to me say 'Everything good. A so di thing set'. Di don beat di man weh lick mi ina mi head back wid di gun," he recalled. John said that the don ensured that someone was always there to watch over him.

More than 10 bodies

"Di yute weh him mek watch mi, mi nah forget him because mi could see sey him never wah fi be a part of it. Right throughout mi time him ensure say mi all right. Friday, before dem release mi, him bring bun and cheese and juice fi mi eat," he said. John said the men showed him more than 10 bodies, and said he would be next if his family did not pay up.

"Di don say to mi 'mek wi see how much yuh family love yuh'. Before dem release mi on Friday, mi could hear dem a plot other kidnaps as well," he added.

The matter was reported to the police and a team of investigators from the St Catherine North Police Division and the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation (C-TOC) branch were reportedly searching for John. Senior Superintendent Anthony McLaughlin, head of (C-TOC) said that the incident forms part of an active investigation and that his department could not comment on the matter.

*Name changed to protect identity