by Charles Gladden

SANTA ELENA, Cayo District, Mon. Aug. 12, 2024

Two men from the Cayo District were reportedly kidnapped by two unknown men over the weekend and taken to an unknown location in the Teakettle Village area where they were robbed and beaten up.

According to reports, the victims – Sawo Mantar and Miguel Cowo – were together in a van in the Hillview area of Santa Elena Town when they were ambushed by two men with firearms who forced them out of the vehicle and placed them into another van.

The victims were taken to an unknown area in Teakettle Village, where they were taken out of the van and beaten with metal pipes. After the beatdown, the robbers stole the men’s cell phones, an undisclosed amount of cash, and other items that they had on their persons.

Mantar and Cowo were abandoned in the area, as the men stole their van as well. The victims were transported to the Western Regional Hospital where they were listed in a stable condition.

Two individuals from the Santa Elena and San Ignacio area are being sought by authorities, said ACP Hilberto, Romero Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department Eastern Division.

He also mentioned that the van Mantar and Cowo were in has not been recovered, and that the duo, Mantar and Cowo, are vegetable vendors and have had no run-ins with the law.