Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 15/Dec 18:55

Venezuelan woman escapes after lured with fake Facebook job scam

A 23-year-old Venezuelan woman who was allegedly lured by a job advertisement on Facebook and was taken to Penal sought refuge in a stranger's home after escaping captivity. According to initial police reports, the woman, of Cunupia, managed to escape three men who demanded $10,000 from her relatives for her release. She was assisted by a Penal man who called the police. Officers from the Penal Police Station, using Google Translate, facilitated her account as no official Spanish interpreter was available. Officers were told on Saturday, the woman made arrangements with someone on Facebook for a job at a bar in Penal. She was picked up by a taxi and taken to Penal where she met three men who took her to a pink-coloured building. She told the officers the men took her cellphone, identification card and other personal belongings. She said she was also told she could not leave unless her relatives paid them $10,000. The woman managed to escape and seek help at a house nearby. Police are also investigating the alleged kidnapping of a Claxton Bay market vendor who was robbed of his personal belongings and produce on Friday evening. Initial reports said the victim was driving along Petit Bourg, San Juan, at about 6.15 pm, while stuck in traffic heading east, a man entered his Mazda BT pickup and demanded, at gunpoint, he follow his directions. Reports said the victim, fearing for his life, complied and was eventually taken to a yard in San Juan, where he was beaten with the butt of the gun and relieved of his personal belongings, including the produce he had for sale. He managed to escape and made his way to the St Joseph police station where he was taken to the San Juan police station to give his report. In another incident on Saturday, police in the Longdenville district have launched an investigation into the alleged kidnapping of a 59-year-old lorry driver who was abducted in a brazen daylight attack on the morning of December 13. According to police reports, the driver and two co-workers were traveling in a company truck along Southern Main Road, Enterprise, when a grey Nissan B15 blocked their path. Two men, described as Spanish nationals, exited the vehicle and began asking about a "dog." When the driver’s co-workers exited the truck to confront the men and request that they move their car, the suspects forcefully pulled him from the truck and placed him into the Nissan B15. The driver was taken to a location on Ravine Sable Hilltop Avenue, where he was met by a group of individuals, including both local and Spanish-speaking men. The victim was assaulted by one of themen and then tied to a chair with tie straps. Police took statements from the driver and investigations continue. The post Venezuelan woman escapes after lured with fake Facebook job scam appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.