TRINIDAD--The families of two cousins from Moruga who were kidnapped over the weekend are praying for a miracle that they will be released without harm.
Kenrick Joseph Morgan, 17, of Gran Chemin, and his cousin, Kendell Singh, 24, of Basse Terre, went on a fishing trip on Saturday evening in the waters off Moruga. The next day, Singh’s family received voice notes and WhatsApp messages from someone who claimed that Joseph and Singh were kidnapped and they would be killed if a US $40,000 ransom was not paid.
The messages demanded that the money be paid by Friday, Morgan’s sister, Ashley Boodoo, said.
Boodoo said her family reported the incident to the Moruga police on Monday. She said her brother is a fifth-form pupil of the Moruga Secondary School. She said fishing was his hobby and he would often go out to sea on a boat with Singh, who is a fisherman. Boodoo said her brother left home on Saturday around 2:30 pm telling his family that he was going to Singh’s house. Later he contacted his family and told them he was going fishing with Singh.
“Kendell’s mother contacted us and said they were kidnapped. I understand that the kidnappers contacted my cousin’s family and they are asking for $40,000. We reported it to police. We tried calling my brother’s cell phone but there was no answer,” said Boodoo. “We didn’t receive any messages. The only message we heard is where they are calling for the money. They said they want the money in a week’s time. They didn’t say where to drop the money. If they send another message at least we will find out where to drop it.”
The sister said she was told that there was a video and photo circulating on social media of someone holding a gun to the victims’ heads.
“I don’t know about the video and photo and our family haven’t seen that,” she said.
Boodoo said her family has been asking other fishermen in Moruga if they had seen her brother or Singh when they went out to sea and to be on the lookout for them. “No one has seen anything so far,” she said.
With the deadline for the money looming, Boodoo said that her family did not have the money to pay the kidnappers. “They said they giving us tomorrow to come up with the money. Right now we are praying to God for a miracle because we don’t have any money. ”
She said her mother Linda Boodoo is very worried for her son and wanted him to return home safely.
Officers of the Moruga Police Station confirmed that a report was made about the incident and it is being investigated. ~ Trinidad Daily Express ~
