Continuing from our last newsletter interview relating to Kidnapping, Corruption and other ‘cancers’ affecting society, we shall now cover how to survive an actual abduction and some points related as to how to avoid such a scenario. The Victim of this incident, an ex-British Soldier whom we shall call “Tony”, was working on the Kosovo/Serbia border (a demarcation disputed by some) defusing Explosive Devices/Remnants of War over several weeks; One morning, whilst proceeding in convoy to his work site, he was abducted along with approximately six other individuals. The following extract outlines what happened in summary, with some learning points/tips that have general safety merit.
Author: Can you outline the build-up to the kidnapping and your movements in this area prior to actually being kidnapped and whether you believed that you were subjected to detailed surveillance? Additionally, were your vehicles fitted with electronic trackers and what measures were in place from your HQ in the event that you did not return from your task location?
Tony: We had been operating in an undefined area to the west of the country for two weeks prior to the abduction. Our role was to clear Explosive Remnants of War and our proximity to the Serbian border, meant that we were vulnerable which, in hindsight, should have precipitated us taking greater security precautions. We were moving as a small convoy around a blind bend when we were confronted by a Serbian ‘snap’/impromptu checkpoint (CP). I knew that we were on the correct side of the border but fearing what was going to occur, attempted to swiftly reverse away from the CP. Before we could do this, I had the barrel of an AK variant rifle at my nose and it was clear that attempting to escape at that moment was futile. Our vehicles were not fitted with trackers and the policy within our company at the time was that an alarm would have only been raised in the event of our non-return feasibly up to 10 hours after any abduction if this had occurred early in the morning. I would suspect that we and others would have been subjected to observations by the Serbs although whether we were specifically targeted is not something I could comment on.
Author: What did the Serbian police unit do and where were you taken?
Tony: We were immediately jostled, assaulted and dragged for about 150metres before being ordered on to our knees where a mock-execution occurred (AUTHOR COMMENT: an AK47 was cocked/Made ready to fire and the trigger pulled – With no live ammunition loaded into the chamber, this makes a loud ‘CLACK’ noise which is a psychological trick intended to scare the recipient into believing that next time, they won’t be SO LUCKY. AUTHOR COMMENT ENDS). I will conservatively describe this as a sobering experience. I think they viewed us as prisoners of war that were aiding their enemy. Interestingly, we were not blindfolded.
Author: Did you find that you were moved to several different locations and were you separated from your colleagues? Can you outline the main points of your interrogation?
Tony: We were moved to approximately three to four different locations and initially, were not separated although at the final destination (of detention) we were. I was questioned in some detail by a special police senior. He mostly asked about what we were doing in the area to which I gave him honest answers (without volunteering too much information) as I didn’t feel that there was much controversial about clearing munitions. He also asked if I’d come from a military background and had worked elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia, to which I gave him an affirmative answer (Tony had served with the British Army in Bosnia). My thinking on this vis-á-vis not lying is that under these sorts of stressful situations, they have a good chance of finding out anyway, if not from your mistakes, from others in your group. I also wanted to identify with him as one military man to another. I’m also a believer that they ask questions to ascertain whether you are deceptive as they already know who and what you are. The best advice I would say is be truthful within reason, but state the minimum to satisfy the kidnapper.
Author: Did this strategy work?
Tony: I would say so as he seemed satisfied with my answers. I was asked no more questions and I and my group were promptly taken to a courthouse, fined 100 Deutschmarks each before being released. Our equipment was confiscated, although our vehicles were returned. On returning to our HQ, nobody had been aware of our incident. Unfortunately, and of note, two weeks after our incident, a similar abduction occurred, this time with a group of US soldiers that were not so lucky and executed sometime after. (Interview Author/‘Tony’, 2013)
AUTHOR COMMENT: The above episode took place over an 8-10 hour period. This is unusual as abducted individuals will often be held for weeks, months or even years except in the case of an Express Kidnapping. The fact that none of his Operations Room colleagues knew of his abduction was a security failure and the lack of armoured vehicle use plus that they were NOT fitted with trackers was a glaring omission that shouldn’t have happened. Panic alarms could have alerted a Quick Reaction Force to respond and prevent this incident. Tony’s Conduct After Capture (CAC) was exemplary and assisted in his survival during this incident.
Further advice given to this author in Kabul in 2010 by a Japanese based Kidnap for Ransom expert working for Control Risks’, a respected firm in this field, added that should you be kidnapped at gunpoint, you should ‘go with it’ and NOT RESIST as YOU WILL BE SHOT if you do, it’s as simple as that. The Stress that the abductors are enduring during the effecting of an abduction is high and resistance will lead to you being killed. Once a captive, you should then time 30-45 minutes from this point (whilst attempting to memorise the route you have taken) which is the point at which the kidnappers will start to relax, then attempt to escape as soon as is feasible after this. The Theory here is that the kidnappers will have dropped their guard to a most relaxed state.
A caveat to this is in areas where ISIS/Al Qaeda affiliated groups operate such as Boko Haram or Ansaru in Northern Nigeria where you are far more likely to be executed because ransoms are not the primary motive of said groups. Kidnap for Ransom is primarily an industry and most abductions are effected whilst the target is mobile in a vehicle. ISIS has evolved its methodology to kidnap from static locations en masse. This demonstrates the evolution of this terrifying tactic. AUTHOR COMMENT ENDS.
TRAINING POINTS To COMBAT this PROBLEM inclusive of NEGOTIATING/CONVERSING with MIND BENDING LANGUAGE when under stress not to mention EMBEDDING MENTAL TOUGHNESS form the basis of Modules 1, 3, 5 and parts of 4 of The SIGMA CYBERNETICS METHOD. Details here; https://www.sigma-cybernetics.de/ in the Products Page
3 Responses
Very Insightful. Would like to read more on some of what went off in Colombia during Escobar’s days’.
Very Insightful.
Would like to hear more about Escobar’s involvement in the use of such tactics.
Escobar was extremely popular in areas in/around Medellin owing to his development of schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. I personally had one Colombian client in the Middle East in 2019 who was from Bucuramanga, the country’s sixth largest city. He he was glowing in his praise for the Man adding that he met him in his teens and that his work for the community enabled many people to survive and have a life when the government had abandoned them.
However, Escobar was known to have ordered a number of Kidnappings through the 70/80s, principally to have outstanding debts settled, in addition to targeting politicians to instil fear in said individuals. On some occasions, he killed the abducted person, even when the ransom had been paid showing how ruthless he could be.
Indeed, this kind of behaviour, kidnapping to assassinate individuals is an allegation that has been levelled at the ‘virtuous’ African National Congress (ANC) Deputy Leader Nelson Mandela. On the run up to the 1994 election, sources allege that an Australian Journalist had conducted a remarkable investigation in which it was claimed that they had gained sight of death warrants (which were carried out) for 400 Political Candidates of the Inkatha Freedom Party (A right wing predominantly Zulu Party) PERSONALLY SIGNED BY NELSON MANDELA. This documentary was broadcast once in 2009 before it was shut down. Things are rarely Black or White, and one side is rarely as bad, or as good as it suits the largely agenda driven mainstream press to portray.