Rhondor Dowlat
Rescued kidnap victim Maria Dass-Supersad is currently at her Lange Park, Chaguanas home resting under heavy police guard to ensure she is comfortable and feels safe.
After she was extracted from a house at Caura, Tunapuna, last night, Dass-Supersad was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mount Hope where she was treated. She was accompanied by the Commissioner of Police (CoP) Gary Griffith, who spearheaded the rescue operation.
A close relative of hers told the T&T Guardian a short while ago that Dass-Supersad is very traumatised but is now resting.
“She was not harmed in any way or mistreated while being held captive,” the relative, who did not want to be named, said.
Speaking about the extraction Thursday night, Griffith said he was pleased they were able to get to Dass-Supersad and get her unharmed.
Griffith said the five-hour intelligence-led operation featured “powerful intelligence gathering that incorporated all the different arms in the TTPS, including the Special Operations Team, Special Branch, Inter-Agency Task Force and intelligence agencies led by ACP Jacob.”
He said he coordinated the efforts from the Command Centre and then made his way to Caura, “deep in the forest” for the actual extraction where two suspects were held.
“This is the sixth kidnapping and all were returned to their families unharmed without any ransom being paid,” Griffith said.
He, however, expressed disappointment at some people who took to social media to suggest the police were affording affluent citizens better treatment than those of the lower class who were in similar situations.
“I think it was classless, it was embarrassing that citizens could try to put an avenue like this in a situation like this. The TTPS under my command will continue to ensure that each and every citizen be protected and they would be served by the police service with pride,” Griffith said.
“We do not see politics, we do not see race, we do not see ethnic composition, we provided all the resources that we could have for those five hours and yet again we were able to do what many people did not think that we would have achieved.
“I am not saying that we would be successful in each and every operation but what we will do is try our best at all times and we would do what is required to bring this country back to what it should be.”
Dass-Supersad, 26, who is currently assigned to The UWI’s Institute of International Advancement, was said to be on her way to pick up her six-year-old daughter when she was kidnapped outside the university’s bookstore near the North Gate on Wednesday at about 3.07 pm. Her car was blocked by a Nissan Tiida, license number PDK 9561, and two men, one dressed in a police outfit the other in a camouflage outfit, got out, grabbed her and bundled her into their car. The men then shot at students and the security guard on duty at the north entrance as they escaped.
The license plate number was later discovered to be false, the police confirmed.
Investigations are continuing.