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Kidnap & Ransom Update – June 5, 2019
5-Jun-19

AMERICAS

1. (HONDURAS, 03/06/19) American escapes kidnappers in central Honduras

A US citizen, who had been kidnapped five days ago, was found by police on 2 June at Meambar, municipality of Comayagua department. The victim was identified as Gustavo Melara, who was kidnapped on 28 May in San Pedro Sula. He reportedly escaped his captors soon after he was transferred to Meambar. No more details were made public. FULL ARTICLE

EUROPE

2. (RUSSIA, 04/06/19) Sports champion victim of kidnapping in Moscow

On 30 May, Russian taekwondo champion Sergey Chmul reported to the police that on 24 May three police impersonators entered his apartment in Moscow and took him to an unknown location, where they kept him for six days. During captivity, he was allegedly forced to sign some documents, which resulted in 12 million rubles (approximately USD 185,000) stolen from his firm’s banks accounts. The police has so far arrested three suspects connected to Sergey Chmul’s abduction. FULL ARTICLE

MIDDLE EAST

3. (IRAQ, 02/06/19) Erbil authorities arrest kidnappers of Indian national

On 2 June, Kurdistan Security Forces published the confessions of three suspects involved in the kidnapping and extortion of an Indian national last month in Erbil. The three suspects were arrested over the weekend for the kidnapping of Indian restaurant owner Nasir Ahmed Ghafor in Erbil’s Ankawa district. The incident, which took place on 28 May, was caught in CCTV camera. The Indian national was held captive for three days, during which he was tortured both physically and mentally and forced to call his brother to procure a ransom. Ghafor’s kidnappers demanded USD 100,000, which was later negotiated to USD 50,000. However, the security forces uncovered their location and rescued the Indian businessman before any money was transferred. FULL ARTICLE

ASIA

4. (BANGLADESH, 04/06/19) Kidnapped schoolboy found dead

Bangladesh law enforcement officers recovered the body of a schoolboy from a pond at a village in Pirojpur, Barisal division, on 3 June, two days after he was kidnapped for ransom. The deceased was kidnapped on 1 June when he went to pray at a local mosque. The next day after his abduction, his kidnappers demanded Tk 5 lakh (almost USD 6,000) from his family as ransom. Subsequently, the boy’s family informed police of the matter. Although the police managed to arrest nine members of the kidnapping gang by tracking their mobile phones, they failed to locate and rescue the boy. FULL ARTICLE

Security threat levels range from 1 (Very Low) to 5 (Very High) and are determined using a comprehensive system that utilizes both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The primary factors used to determine a location’s security threat level are Armed Conflict, Crime, Demonstrations/Strikes, Ethnic/Sectarian Tensions, Graft/Corruption, Kidnapping, Political Instability, Government Restriction and Terrorism.