Of the five (5) customs agents kidnapped in downtown Port-au-Prince on June 9, four (4) were released on June 15 in exchange for ransom, reports Télé Pluriel, citing the spokesman of the Haitian customs association, Roosner Registre.
The kidnappers are holding another customs officer hostage, demanding more money.
Five employees of the Port-au-Prince customs, Angela Sanon, Guerline Maddy, Ednice Casalès, Kénold Bien-Aimé and Sabine Bourdeau, were abducted on the afternoon of June 9 as they were leaving the office. These customs agents were in a single vehicle when they were targeted by heavily armed individuals. One of them had time to flee.
The Haitian Customs Administration quickly expressed its concern, saying it was dismayed and strongly condemned the kidnapping of five of its members assigned to the Port-au-Prince customs and the central office.
The ADH called on all customs officers in the Republic to observe a work stoppage starting Friday June 10, 2022. The objective was to demand from the state authorities the immediate release of their colleagues, safe and unconditionally and the permanent establishment of three (3) police back-ups around the customs office of Port-au-Prince and the central office.
The ADH noted that customs officers have become targets of kidnappers, reporting that in less than two weeks, 7 customs officers have been kidnapped and only one released.
A situation that the customs community said they live with a broken and contrite spirit.
The ADH has conditioned the resumption of activities within the customs administration to the satisfaction of its demands.
The kidnapping of these customs agents occurred 72 hours after the release of the Deputy Director General of the General Administration of Customs, Roosevelt Réjouis, who was kidnapped in Delmas 75 on May 31.
The latter was expected to replace Director General Rommel Bell of the AGD, who is under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Unit.