Two Cuban nationals were remanded to jail on Monday over an alleged scheme to extort money from an overseas relative by staging a kidnapping.

22-year-old Daikol Tartabull Rodriguez of Grove, East Bank Demerara and 28-year-old Iban Martinez of North Road, Georgetown, appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore on Monday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court to face the charge of Conspiracy to Commit a Felony.

The two men were not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge and have been remanded to prison until the 22nd June, 2026 when the matter will continue.

Last Wednesday, the Police received a report of an alleged kidnapping from a Cuban national, who told investigators that his friend had been kidnapped and was being held against his will. It was also reported that the alleged kidnappers were demanding money for the man’s safe release.

Investigators followed a number of leads and later found the alleged kidnapping victim, Iban Martinez, in the company of three other men in a car. He was not being held against his will and the Police said an interview with him revealed a number of inconsistencies with the claims of a kidnapping.

Investigators later realised that the two men had allegedly staged the kidnapping in an effort to get a relative based in the US to send money to them to pay the alleged ransom.

The Police were able to track down the alleged victim after following a number of leads obtained through the use of surveillance cameras.

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