(Trinidad Guardian) The four men who were killed by police during an alleged shootout in the mountains at Upper St Michael’s Road, St Augustine, yesterday morning, were yet to be identified up to last night.
Although the T&T Police Service (TTPS) was unable to definitively confirm if and how the men were connected to the kidnapping of doubles vendor Anisha Hosein-Singh, who was released unharmed on Wednesday night in Caroni, it is believed the four played a part in the woman’s five-day ordeal.
The dead men, who were killed several hours after Hosein-Singh was found by a motorist wandering along the road in Caroni, were alleged to be members of the Resistance Gang.
Head of the Anti Kidnapping Unit (AKU), ASP Darryl Ramdass, yesterday said, “We would have had intelligence that suggested and led to enquiries.”
Meanwhile, the top brass in the T&T Police Service believe the kidnappers were “spooked” as a result of intensified investigations and had chosen to release their victim to avoid detection and apprehension.
However, investigators said there may be other players still at large and are continuing to withhold most of the information on the case.
Hosein-Singh, a 27-year-old mother of one, was grabbed by armed men around 5.50 am on May 18, whilst setting up the Sauce & Sons doubles stand along the Eastern Main Road, El Dorado, Tunapuna. She was picked up by a driver around 10 pm on Wednesday near the Caroni Cremation Site.
Reports claim that officers, acting on intelligence, hiked for at least 30 minutes through the hilly St Augustine terrain around 9 am yesterday as they continued enquiries.
At some stage during their journey, they were allegedly fired upon by the suspects, who were said to be hiding in a wooden shack.
The officers returned fire, killing the four men on the spot.
A pistol and an automatic rifle were allegedly recovered in the shack where the suspects were killed.
Nearby residents confirmed hearing gunfire but claimed to be unaware of who had been killed in the area, commonly referred to as “The Zone”.
Several women who arrived at the scene as news of the killings spread and were seen crying, refused to confirm their relationship with the men or their identities.
