POLICE suspect that the killing of a man in Sangre Grande, during an attempted kidnapping on Monday night, may be linked to drug activity in the community.

Head of the Homicide Bureau Rishi Singh, told Newsday on Wednesday afternoon investigations are ongoing and as investigators delve deeper, they are considering drugs as a possible motive.

Stefan Juri, a farmer and fruit vendor of Fleming Road Fishing Pond, was found lying naked at Seecharan Trace, Fishing Pond, with a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck, at around 8.45 pm. A DMO pronounced him dead.

The police cannot yet confirm whether the incident is related to the recent discovery of millions of dollars' worth of cocaine that washed ashore near Sangre Grande over the weekend.

Residents reported hearing two gunshots near Ganda Road Junction, Fishing Pond earlier.

Investigators acting on a tip-off went to Lemond Road, Fishing Pond, where they found a white Nissan Tiida parked on the road. The driver was arrested and the car searched. They found a Glock 19 pistol and ten rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition under the driver's seat.

Simultaneously, another group of police responded to a report of a vehicle on fire at Fleming Road, Fishing Pond. After the fire was extinguished, it was determined that the burnt vehicle was Juri's Nissan Frontier.

Other reports said there had been an attempt to kidnap a male relative of Juri the day before, and that Juri was the brother of a woman police corporal assigned to the Emergency Response Patrol in the Eastern Division.

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