Friends: Kidnap victim's trusting nature might have got him killed

FRIENDS of Shashi Anand Rampersad say his friendly and trusting personality may have contributed to his kidnapping and eventual death.

Rampersad, 36, of Lange Park, Chaguanas, was abducted from Pierre Street, Enterprise, around 1.45 pm on November 21, 2024.

He was delivering a load of sand for a customer when a dark-coloured Nissan Versa pulled up behind his truck while he was parked near the customer’s house.

Two masked gunmen, dressed in black long-sleeved jerseys and black long pants, and with only their eyes visible, got out and ordered him to stay where he was.

Rampersad tried to run but the men chased after him and caught him some metres away.

They then forced him into the back of the waiting car and drove off.

Police arrived minutes later and found his Mitsubishi FUSO Canter truck idling near the road, with the keys in the ignition and his cellphone inside.

His family reportedly received a video sometime after his kidnapping, in which Rampersad urged them to pay $500,000 to a man who he allegedly owed money.

It is not known if the family made any payment but on January 27, Kareem Rodriguez was remanded into custody after being charged with kidnapping for ransom.

Less than two weeks later, on February 8 at around 2.30 pm, Western Division officers on patrol in St James received a report of a body being discovered in a forested area off Dibe Road, St James.

When they responded, they saw Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne and some of his employees.

Alleyne told police he had information that a kidnap victim’s body was dumped in the forest.

Police hiked about 500 metres into the forested area and reached an area next to a bamboo patch where Alleyne pointed to a shallow grave two feet wide, three feet long and three feet deep.

Rampersad’s body was found on its back in a foetal position with the hands bound with a black tie strap.

His family identified the body at the Forensic Science Centre in St James on February 10 and had the body released for a funeral.

On February 11, Newsday returned to his family’s home and businessplace along the Southern Main Road, Enterprise, less than two minutes from where he was kidnapped.

Employees declined to speak with the media and said none of his relatives were home.

Two of his friends who lived nearby were willing to speak, but did so under the condition of anonymity as they believed they might have been among the last of his friends to see him alive.

They described him as a good, friendly man who was always laughing and talking with people in the neighbourhood.

“Nice is not enough to express the type of person he was. Anything to describe a good person you can use to describe Shashi,” said one friend.

The man, who knew Rampersad since they were boys, said he never expected him to fall victim to this type of crime.

“I’m really disappointed with what happened to him. He was really a good fella and nobody in the community expected this to happen to him. He used to help anybody he could. It’s very sad.”

“It’s just a tragic incident. It pains all of us.”

Another friend said Rampersad was friendly with everyone in the community.

“He don’t pass me nowhere. Once he see me or my vehicle he will flick his lights, blow his horn or wave.”

He suggested Rampersad’s friendly personality might have been to his detriment and believed someone he did a job for might have ties to a person who was in prison.

He added the person might have information about the incident.

The man called on the police to “do what they need to do” to catch his killers.

“(The kidnappers) could have let him go. The boy didn’t do anybody anything.”

The men say crime in the community, though, is getting worse and more people are getting worried about their safety.

“As you can see, the street is empty. If you didn’t see me outside you wouldn’t have seen anybody. Nobody is coming outside.”

One of the men added, although he saw Rampersad moments before the kidnapping, he was not fearful.

“I grew up in this community…so to say ‘I fear for my life,’ no. God is in control of everything.”