Investigations into last Saturday’s kidnapping of a United States diplomat are being “protected from exposure”, a senior law enforcement officer told Stabroek News yesterday.
As such, the police as well as embassy officials continue to remain silent about aspects of the case. However, in light of the recent spate of kidnappings, the officer said the Guyana Police Force is now concentrating on vulnerable areas, since people are being kidnapped from just about anywhere.
Last Saturday morning, two teenagers kidnapped the Regional Security Officer of the United States Embassy in Georgetown, Stephen Lesniak, 35, while he was playing golf at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara.
A few hours later, 16-year-old Roy Bell was snatched. He was last seen alive following one of his friends to a downtown bus park. Lesniak was released Saturday night after friends reportedly paid some ransom.
However, Bell’s body was discovered late Monday night on the Liliendaal road after his parents paid over a large amount of money to secure his freedom.
On Tuesday morning, kidnappers struck again and tried to grab a young city businesswoman.
Fortunately she escaped. One of the men who attempted to kidnap her was subsequently shot and killed by a member of a private security firm.
As the officer pointed out, “anyone can be a target”. However he said that there might be other groups of persons who were using the situation as a cover to carry out their own deeds.
He advised that parents should be accountable for their children at all times and encourage them not to respond to strangers.
“If they are being picked up, this must be done by a regular person and, also, everyone must be aware of suspicious persons in their area. We [the police] are at all times maintaining, based on our resources, patrols around the city and on the East Coast [Demerara]. In some areas, we are doing spot checks and we are keeping our ranks very alert to respond to these situations,” the officer told Stabroek News. (Kim Lucas)