According to a joint Army/Police press release, Viticharan Singh, 55, of De Hoop, Mahaica, was found in a locked house which seemed abandoned, at Buxton south of the Railway Embankment Road.

He was handcuffed and his feet were bound when the joint search party, acting on information, found him at around 11:40 hrs, the release said.

Two men have been detained and are assisting the Police in their investigations, the release added.

Singh was taken to the Cove and John Police Station after which he underwent a medical examination, sources said.

The Chronicle understands that Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldiers based in Buxton moved along the Company Road, south of the Railway Embankment and entered the eighth yard, which has two houses. A cordon and search operation was launched and the kidnap victim was located in one of the houses, sources said.

They said the two men detained were found in the house in which Singh was located.

Singh was kidnapped around 17:45 hrs Tuesday when three heavily armed men drove up in a motorcar in front of his home at Belvedere, De Hoop, Mahaica, disembarked and barged into his shop where they terrorised and ordered employees to lie face down while they ransacked and robbed the shop.

Singh, who put up resistance to the bandits, was overpowered and then bundled into a Toyota Marino pickup vehicle and taken to an unknown destination.

According to Police sources, the car in which the man was reportedly taken away was later Tuesday intercepted at Beterverwagting by an Army and Police patrol.

However, only the driver was in the car and he was arrested and taken into custody at the Vigilance Police Station, the sources said.

Singh's family said they had received no word from the kidnappers since he was abducted.

A relative Friday night said they were all "praying and hoping for the best".

She added that the family was optimistic that Singh was still alive.

And yesterday they received the news that he had been found alive and well.

This was the latest in a spate of kidnappings which began last year.

Most victims have been reportedly held in the troubled village of Buxton, until ransoms were paid over for their release.

Singh's rescue came as the Army and Police intensified crime fighting operations in Buxton.

Sources said that up to late Friday three major joint Police/Army operations had been conducted in the village.

The first joint operation was around 02:15 hrs on Thursday, one on Thursday night and another Friday which residents said continued into the night.

During Friday's operation, there were several reports of sporadic outbreaks of heavy gunfire in Buxton during the afternoon and into the night. Reports suggested that there was a standoff between the joint forces and gangs operating in Buxton.

According to unconfirmed reports, one man was shot dead in Buxton Friday.

A resident said the Army used a 'front-end loader' to break down barriers which had been set up in all the streets leading from the main road into the village.

Reports said the barriers in the centre of the streets in the village were made up of wood, posts, tree trunks, derelict vehicles and other old things and were put there by persons to prevent Police and Army vehicles and other 'outsiders' from easily entering and leaving Buxton.

Other reports indicated that as the 'front end loader' broke through the barriers, some residents used forks and shovels to dig a 'trench' across the road.

During all of this, however, traffic was reportedly flowing smoothly on both sides along the East Coast main road as ranks from the Guyana Defence Force maintained a heavy presence on the section in Buxton and nearby areas.

A GDF soldier died in a shootout on Thursday morning with a known criminal and another man during the first joint Police/Army cordon and search operation at Buxton.

Dead is Lance Corporal Shemton Dodson, of Artillery Company, Camp Stephenson, Timehri, and of Paradise Village, West Coast Berbice.

The GDF Public Relations Department said the shooting occurred around 02:15 hrs, at the corner of Barnwell Street and Church of God road, Buxton, during the joint GDF/Police operation.

According to the Army press release, the members of the GDF patrol were fired upon by three men. It said the patrol returned fire, killing two of the gunmen while a third escaped.

The wounded soldier was immediately rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Recovered from the scene of the shooting was one AK 47 assault rifle fitted with a retractable butt and three magazines containing live rounds.

Police Thursday identified one of the dead men as Mark Phillips also called `Big Batty Mark', deported from Cayenne in 1999. Phillips was wanted in connection with a series of murders committed on Policemen and civilians, as well as a number of robberies under arms, Police said.

The release said a wanted bulletin had earlier been issued for him.

Police Friday said the second man fatally shot early Thursday morning during the joint Army/Police cordon and search operation at Buxton, had been identified.

A Police press release said he was Leslie Anthony Peters, 18, formerly of Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara. He was said to have last resided at Victoria and Buxton villages, East Coast Demerara. A third man believed to have been wounded in the shootout escaped, officials said.

A source also said that Phillips, along with Seon Gittens and Christopher Belle, also called `Magga' were also involved in several kidnappings.

Phillips was reportedly involved in the kidnapping of the United States diplomat Steve Lesniak, last month, the source said. Lesniak was released unharmed after a ransom was reportedly paid to the kidnappers.

Gittens was recently killed in Buxton and Belle, who Police said was wanted for the murder of a Policeman and a series of armed robberies, was found dead with several bullet wounds to his head, under a house south of the Buxton Railway Embankment around April 14 last.

His body was found in a chair beneath a house which belonged to the mother of another wanted man, Sheldon Bacchus.

Bacchus' bullet riddled body was found aback of Durban Backlands, Georgetown, a few weeks ago.

Sunday, May 18, 2003