Dr. Jaques Smits, a criminologist who is here assisting the Polish mother of the two children allegedly abducted by Ploeger, told the Chronicle yesterday that he is awaiting some telephone calls from the local Police regarding the whereabouts of Ploeger. He vowed that if the calls do not yield any positive information, he would be going on a house-to-house search for Ploeger and the two children.

Dr. Smits and the mother of the abducted children, Ms Aneta Joanna Szadkowska, 30, are in Guyana in search of Timotheus Witold Ploeger, who was born at Enschende, Netherlands on December 27, 1997 and Pascal Roelf Ploeger, born at Assen, Netherlands on June 16, 1999.

Their parents, Szadkowska (a Polish national) and Ploeger were married on October 3, 1997 in the Netherlands where they settled and lived together for about four years, divorcing on September 12, 2000 with the court awarding Szadkowska the custody of the children on four separate occasions.

The last time Szadkowska saw her children was on June 24, 2001 when Ploeger kidnapped and disappeared with the children.

Dr. Smits said it is not the first time that Ploeger has disappeared with the children and expressed surprise that the Dutch courts continued granting him visiting rights.

Asked how he got involved in the case, Dr. Smits said that for a number of years now he has become involved in similar cases and recently he was on Dutch television after returning from Syria on another child abduction case. It was then Szadkowska approached him for help to which he readily agreed. Smits is confident that he will nab Ploeger, having had successes with a number of previous cases in Sweden, Egypt and Syria.

Dr. Smits, who does most of the talking because of Szadkowska’s limited English, said she is suffering terribly and as such he tries to inject as much humour into her life to help her cope with the emotional stress she is enduring. He also pointed out that she gets her strength from spiritual inspiration because of her deep religious conviction, being a devout Roman Catholic.

He said when Szadkowska and Ploeger were together she was living under mental and emotional stress because she could not visit her parents in Poland, and she had to get permission to speak to them on the telephone.

Dr. Smits also pointed out that according to the immigration laws of Netherlands, a foreigner who is married to a Dutch citizen has to live at least three years there before he/she can receive social welfare and enjoy the full rights like a citizen. In Szadkowska’s case they were divorced just one month before the three years were up. As a result, she was threatened with deportation to Poland and deprivation of social welfare.

Szadkowska said if she had gone back to Poland then, that would have been the end of the struggle to regain her two children. However, Dr. Smits was able to put up a legal battle, which prevented her from being sent back to Poland.

Ploeger apparently feels that the Dutch courts were “bought out” when they awarded custody of the children to his former wife. He is dissatisfied, the criminologist explained, adding that Ploeger is a sick and depressed maniac.

Asked how he was able to trace Ploeger to Guyana, Dr. Smits explained that he has several Police contacts and an associate who is a lawyer and an ex-Director of Immigration in the Netherlands. In addition, the Internet was of help.

Dr. Smits is confident that Ploeger will not be able elude him much longer because he is cash-strapped and is using fake documents. The children’s passports and other relevant documents are in the possession of their mother. Ploeger is so desperate, Smits said, that he was trying to sell his computer in parts to raise money.

Smits also thanked the Chronicle for the prominence with which it carried the story yesterday. He is hoping that the publication would help the public to become aware of the situation making it even more difficult for Ploeger to hide or escape.

The criminologist said he is not out for money in these cases. He simply cares and is genuinely concerned about the suffering party and derives his satisfaction when he successfully returns children, who have been abducted, to their mothers.

“When you bring children and gave them to their mothers, and you look at their faces, the satisfaction you get, it is like you are in heaven,” Dr. Smits declared.

Meanwhile, the Police in Corriverton told the Chronicle yesterday that they are on the lookout for Ploeger and the children, as Dr. Smits and Szadkowska visited the Corriverton Police Station and informed them about the alleged abduction. The Police also gave the assurance that as soon as Ploeger is spotted he will be taken into custody.