has anyone seen my brother?

[Anders]

Niklas
Sweden
Male
Age: 23
Eyes Blue
Hair: Blonde
Height: 178
Body: skinny no tattoes, his skin isnt very dark.
Niklas has a scar on his back and anoter small one on his upper lip. He probably wears long shorts and a tanktop. I have reason to belive something bad has happend to him.

[Brian Taylor]

any idea where he stayed, just to narrow the search a bit?
keep fingers crossed that nothing happened to him and he is just to relaxed to call back home!

[Anders]

no. i have been contacted by a man clamming to be my brothers attorney.
he says my brother has been smoking crack cocaine and that he was arrested.
the man says the fine for this crime is 5000usd.

is it true that tourists can be arrested for this crime?
can the fine be 5000usd?
why has our goverment been contacted by trinidad/tobago immigration?

[Anders]

hasn't been contacted. can it be kidnappers?

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Anders

My sympathies - you must be so worried.

Yes, it would be perfectly possible (even desirable) for anyone - foreigner or local - to be arrested for smoking crack cocaine. However, you description makes me highly suspicious and I suspect that this is not a genuine.

With respect, if you brother smokes crack then he may well be an addict. Is there any possibility that he might be using a 'friend' to try and get money from you to feed his habit? Sorry, I mean no disrespect so please ignore my comments if you think this is a ridiculous suggestion.

Does this attorney claim to be in Tobago or in Sweden? If in Sweden, you should be able to confirm that his firm exists by checking your telephone directory and then telephoning the firm's main switchboard. If it is a T&T solicitor, let us know and we can confirm whether he is genuine or not.

[Anders]

yes i have considered the posibility that he may be an addict. and I find it higly dislikely.
the native attorney said that in an TT jail/custom you only get 1 call and that my brother contacted him-a attorney. my brother then told the lawyer to contact me.
is it true that you only get 1 call?
have youve heard of similar "scams"?
are kidnappers not more likely to just tell me he has a gun towards his face?

im thankful that someone atleast seems to care our goverment has not taken this matter serious enough.

[Patrick Dankou]

Hi Anders,
we are handling most of the scandinavian tour operators here in Tobago, could you send me a mail with the full name of your brother and the name of the attorney that called you? I might be able to help if I have all relevant information.

Best regards

Patrick

[Anders]

yes i cant find you email? please

[Patrick Dankou]

[email protected]

[Steve Wooler]

Thank you Patrick.

Anders - please do as Patrick suggests. Yes Tourism are the most respected and well-known ground handling agency on Tobago and Patrick is the Managing Director - so your appeal has managed to attract the interest and help of a top contact. Please just email Patrick and give him as much detail as possible.

I don't know if it helps, but kidnapping is a common occurence on Trinidad, but I've never heard of a case on Tobago.

Good luck.

[Anders]

thank you for your care. i got the contact i wanted from patrick. can an administror please remove this thread. thankful/anders

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Anders

I am delighted that Patrick has managed to help.

We have a very strict policy of not removing posts except where that are legal, obscenity or marketing issues involved. No confidential information has been disclosed in the thread. Perhaps you would be good enough to email me if there are solid reasons why the thread should be removed.

[Brian Taylor]

anders, don't worry, no names have been mentioned here and I am sure that patrick will keep the matter strickly confidential.
good to hear the forum could help you
best of luck
steph & alibaba

[Steve Wooler]

Anders is naturally anxious to keep this case as quiet as possible in case his brother has been kidnapped and is being held to ransom. However, I am equally anxious to reassure readers that this is NOT the sort of incident that happens on Tobago.

We have established that the brother has not been arrested on Tobago. In fact, there is no evidence that the brother even visited Tobago (or Trinidad). I have no wish to disclose possibly confidential data but can I please confirm that the 'attorney' was not from T&T and the telephone number supplied by him was for another Caribbean island. Anders posted his message here because he knows that his brother intended to visit Trinidad and Tobago at some point during his trip.