PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Members of the Anti-Kid-napping Squad, the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago and the Inter-Agency Task Force were searching yesterday for a businesswoman who became this country's latest abduction victim.

Phillipa Talma, 45, the daughter of University of the West Indies professor and former independent senator Julian Kenny, was abducted outside her business place in the upscale Maraval community north of the capital last Friday evening.

Police said the abduction took place in full view of security guards and members of the general public, and eyewitnesses reported that Talma kicked and screamed as she was being taken.

Professor Kenny, who is an environmental expert, has so far refused to comment on the incident.

The vehicle used in the abduction was later found abandoned in the Maraval area. Police said that it had been reported stolen a few days earlier.

President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association Gregory Aboud said that kid-napping was "one of the most terrifying crimes" that has been "haunting our country over the past several years.

"I am not sure that the national community and particularly the business community can withstand the terror of another bout of kid-nappings in Trinidad and Tobago.

"Nothing affected our international reputation more negatively than kidnapping. No amount of financial prosperity or economic activity can save our country from damnation if kidnappings begin again," Aboud added.