Kidnapped businessman released, ransom reportedly paid
Published:Thursday | June 26, 2025 | 12:11 AMAdrian Frater/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Gavin Myers, a businessman from Darliston, Westmoreland, who was abducted early Tuesday morning by heavily armed men, has reportedly been released and is now reunited with his family. Sources indicate that a ransom was paid to secure his release.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Glenford Miller, head of the Area One Police Division – which includes Westmoreland – confirmed Myers’ release and noted that the police are investigating reports that a ransom demanded by his captors was involved.
“From all indications, he was actually released by the persons who kidnapped him, and he is back home now, safe,” Miller told The Gleaner yesterday. “We are also hearing, but we have not confirmed, that some monies were paid over to these persons (kidnappers) for his release.”
Reports indicate that Myers, who operates a car mart in Darliston, received a phone call early Monday from someone posing as a prospective car buyer. He agreed to meet the caller at his business place around 7 a.m. Shortly after his arrival, a Toyota Crown motor car pulled up and three rifle-wielding men emerged. They forced Myers into their vehicle at gunpoint and drove off.
Alarmed residents who witnessed the incident alerted the police. However, initial efforts by law enforcement were hindered by the lack of information regarding the abductors or their motive.
Sources suggest that individuals close to Myers negotiated directly with the kidnappers, without police involvement. Sometime between nightfall on Monday or early Tuesday morning, Myers was released.
Despite his safe return, police have not closed the investigation.
“We will continue to investigate this matter,” said Miller, who made it clear that the police is taking the matter quite seriously, especially since guns were involved.
Myers, who is also said to be an aspiring recording artiste, is among several businessmen in western Jamaica who have recently been targeted. In a high-profile case in March 2020, Montego Bay-based Chinese businessman Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Li was kidnapped, forced to open his business vault, and later shot and killed.