Sangre Grande businesswoman kidnapped

POLICE were said to be actively looking for Mary Ali last night hours after the mother of three was kidnapped on Wednesday morning as she was about to open her business – Co$$ Cutters Supermarket – in Sangre Grande.

The kidnapping has left residents in shock.

She was snatched near her home around 7 am on Wednesday although she had a bodyguard with her.

Her son Anil didn’t want to comment when Newsday visited the scene.

However, a man claiming to be a family friend told Newsday he was badly shaken by what had happened, adding this was the first time the family had faced a kidnapping.

Ali, a retired principal, was snatched from the grocery’s car park along George Street, not far from her home. She was bundled into a grey Mitsubishi Lancer which drove off in the direction of Coalmine, according to police.

Members of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT), the Eastern Division Task Force, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and the Cyber Crime Unit are all involved in the investigation and search for Ali.

A neighbour told Newsday, “I’m shocked by this. I was to come out this morning about the same time she was taken, to move my birdcage. But something about this morning was off and I decided not to go out, and look what happened. If I was outside I too might have been snatched.”

He said Ali had lived in the area for the past 18 years.

“I don’t know why this would happen to her. She is sick and has to move slowly to get over from her home to the grocery with her security by her side. We can only just hope and pray she’s ok.”