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Fake kidnap plot…Trini sent to GT jail
– Arrest warrants issued for two compatriots
From sipping juice in a comfortable hotel to spending time in police custody, Sawak Maraj, the Trinidadian national who faked his own kidnapping to get money from his parents was yesterday charged with the crime. He appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The 33-year-old Chemical Engineer was indicted for conspiring with others to commit a felony and giving the police false information.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan remanded Maraj to the Georgetown Prison until November 16. It is unlikely that he will be kidnapped from the high security penitentiary.
Particulars of the first charge against Maraj alleged that on October 27, at Georgetown, he knowingly gave false information to the police, stating that he was kidnapped and that his abductors demanded US$700,000 for his release. It was further alleged that on the same day at Madewini Resort, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Maraj conspired with other persons to negotiate to obtain a ransom of US$700,000. The Trinidadian national pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Attorney for Maraj, requested for his client to be granted bail pending trial.
The lawyer told the court that should bail be granted, Maraj will be accommodated at the Marriott Hotel. The lawyer said that his client poses no risk of flight, although he is not a native of Guyana.
But Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore strongly opposed bail for Maraj, citing that he indeed is a flight risk.
Moore disclosed that police are still on the hunt for two men who assisted Maraj with the fake abduction. According to Moore, the men have been blacklisted at airports in Guyana and Trinidad.
Meanwhile, police have issued wanted bulletin, in connection with the crime, for 40-year-old Anil Antonio Mahabir and 42-year-old Vejhy Ramdass, both of whom last known address is listed as Trinidad and Tobago.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Mahabir and Ramdass is asked to contact the nearest police station, or the police on 225-6411, 226-1389, 227-2128, 226-7065, 225-2227, 225-0575 or 911
Maraj arrived in Guyana last week Saturday via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
He reportedly left the airport in a taxi and was heading to a hotel on the East Bank Demerara, when he disappeared. He reportedly came to Guyana to attend a job interview with Exxon Mobil.
It was a Guyanese who went to the hotel and made reservations for Maraj.
Shortly after, the engineer left the airport, a photograph of him with someone holding a cutlass to his neck, was sent to his parents and other relatives in Trinidad and Tobago.
REMANDED: Sawak Maraj
WANTED: Vejhy Ramdass
It is alleged that the ‘kidnappers’ threatened to kill their victim if the demanded ransom was not paid. The engineer’s family immediately made contact with the Guyana Police Force and forwarded the photograph. This newspaper was informed that local ranks were able to track the number that the ‘kidnappers’ used to make contact with Maraj’s relatives. They were also able to trace the location where the call was made.
Ranks were immediately mobilised from around Georgetown and sent to the location in a bid to rescue the ‘victim.’ On arrival at the hotel, they took up strategic positions.
They were puzzled when they entered the room where the ‘victim’ was being held and found him relaxing on a sofa, drinking a can of fruit-juice. He was not bound or gagged.
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