[UPDATED] Attorney seeks release of kidnap suspect

AN attorney for at least one of the suspects held in connection with the kidnapping for ransom of Central used-car dealer Sachel Kungebeharry has applied for a writ of habeas corpus to justify his client’s continued detention four days after his arrest.

The application was filed on October 6.

The application said the suspect has been held since his arrest on October 1 and is being kept at a police station in North Trinidad.

It also said the suspect was interviewed three times since his arrest. A pre-action protocol letter was also sent to the police’s legal department on October 5, complaining of the suspect’s continued detention without a charge being laid. However, there has been no response, the application said.

The application said it was unlawful to detain someone on pending further inquiries without reasonable and probable cause.

“The applicant, to date, is still being detained on the basis of pending enquiries. The law relative to the detention of a suspect is guided by common law which suggests that a suspect(s) may be detained for approximately 48 hours.

“The applicant’s continued detention by the Commissioner of Police is illegal and unlawful and it would be unjust and oppressive to continue to detain him as he has been in custody for four days without charge,” the application said.

Kungebeharry, 32, of Pierre Road, Felicity was kidnapped on September 25, after a marked police car intercepted the car he was in at Endeavour Road Extension, Chaguanas. Kungebeharry was taken away by two men dressed in what appeared to be police tactical uniforms and a ransom demand was later made for his safe release.

On September 29, the family paid $500,000 but the victim was not released. Three police officers were arrested on October 2. Two officers assigned to the Caroni Police Station and another man remain in custody assisting investigators and the police car used in the kidnapping was seized from the Caroni Police Station on October 1, police said.

On October 3, police recovered Kungebeharry’s body in the Longdenville district.

In a release late October 4, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher said police officers who commit criminal acts will be booted out of the police service and face the full brunt of the law.

She said such incidents “threaten to erode the public’s trust” in the police service.

This story has been updated to include additional details. Please see original post below.

AN attorney for a kidnapping suspect has applied for a writ of habeas corpus to justify his continued detention four days after his arrest.

The application was filed by attorney Kirk Cumberbatch on October 6.

He said his client has been held since his arrest on October 1 at a police station in north Trinidad.

Cumberbatch said his client had been interviewed three times since his arrest.

A pre-action protocol letter was sent to the police's legal department on October 5, complaining of his client's continued detention without a charge being laid.

However, there has been no response, the attorney said.

Cumberbatch said it was unlawful to detain someone on pending further inquiries without reasonable and probable cause.

"The applicant, to date, is still being detained on the basis of pending enquiries. The law relative to the detention of a suspect is guided by common law which suggests that a suspect(s) may be detained for approximately 48 hours.

"The applicant's continued detention by the Commissioner of Police is illegal and unlawful and it would be unjust and oppressive to continue to detain him as he has been in custody for four days without charge," the application said.