Businessmen charged with kidnapping, assault
Cops probe suspected link to cocaine bust
Published:Friday | August 13, 2021 | 12:09 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
Two businessmen suspected of being the masterminds behind a failed $50-million cocaine shipment destined for the United Kingdom (UK) are now behind bars, accused of the dramatic kidnapping and pummelling of a customs broker they believed foiled the arrangement, law-enforcement sources have revealed.
The cocaine, with a street value of US$363,000 – or approximately J$54.4 million – was reportedly stashed in packages labelled as jerk seasoning, when it was intercepted at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, on August 2 by detectives assigned to the Narcotics Police Division.
The businessmen were already being sought in connection with the shipment, according to sources close to the investigation, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly about the case.
The battered male customs broker was reportedly hired to handle the shipping arrangements.
A second customs broker, accused by the businessmen of “plotting to steal the cocaine-contaminated shipment”, narrowly escaped their wrath as both men were apprehended by police investigators when they showed up at her St Andrew home to exact revenge, sources close to the probe have charged.
The businessmen were formally charged on Tuesday with kidnapping and assault and are set to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court next Tuesday.
Their names have not yet been released because detectives are conducting additional investigations, the police have explained, raising the possibility that they could face more criminal charges.
Both men are from upper St Andrew addresses.
Investigators claim that the businessmen, angry that the shipment had been intercepted, lured the male customs broker to Devon House, near the New Kingston business district in St Andrew, about midday on August 3.
The customs broker was accused of failing to send off the shipment of ‘jerk seasoning’ that was subsequently found to be cocaine.
He was reportedly ordered into a Toyota motor car, where he was blindfolded, his mouth gagged with duct tape, and his hands and feet bound.
“He was severely beaten to his head, face and other parts of his body, causing bruises and swelling,” according to a preliminary police report seen by The Gleaner.
“He was kept like this for over an hour, after which the cover was removed from his eyes and he saw [names redacted], who threatened to kill him and his family if he did not return the goods and monies that they gave him to do a shipment to the United Kingdom,” added the report.
Further, it is reported that the businessmen were arrested after they forced the customs broker to lead them to the home of the female customs broker, who they accused of “plotting to steal the cocaine-contaminated shipment”.