TWO men were expected to appear on Thursday before an Arima magistrate charged with the kidnapping of a St Helena couple.

A police release said Devon "Channas" London, 23, and Ryan Ramoutarsingh, 24, were both charged with two counts of kidnapping for ransom contrary to Section 3 (1) of the Kidnapping Act, Chapter 11:26.

According to a January 9 report in the Trinidad Newsday, Natine Maraj, 62, and his wife Mattie Maraj, 54, left their home at around 5.30 pm on Saturday January 8, in a silver Ford Focus to go to a plot of land they own on Three Bs Drive in Piarco.

The report said relatives later received a call from a stranger demanding cash for the couple's safe release.

Maraj managed to escape his captors hours later, with his wife still a captive. Three days later, Mattie Maraj was found walking along a road in Valencia. She was unharmed. A ransom demand of $2 million had been made, but police never revealed if this was paid. The couple have been unwilling to speak to the media.

The investigation was overseen by acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob and acting DCP Wendell Williams, co-ordinated by Snr Supt Joseph Chandool and ASP Ramdass, and supervised by Insp Callender.

[caption id="attachment_935474" align="alignnone" width="598"] CHARGED: Devon London, charged with the January 8 kidnapping of St Helena couple Natine and Mattie Maraj. PHOTO COURTESY TTPS -[/caption]

Officers from the Anti Kidnapping Unit, the Criminal Investigations Department, the Special Operations Response Teams, the Special Investigations Unit and the Central Division were all involved in the investigations.

On Wednesday, investigators sought advice from Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Nigel Pilgrim, after which detective constable Charles of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit charged London and Ramoutarsingh.

During the investigations, 11 people, including a 16-year-old boy, were detained for questioning.