Posted on: Friday, September 20, 2002

Police block Kaimuki street in search for kidnappers

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Police last night broke into a Kaimuki apartment where they believed at least one suspect of an armed kidnapping was holed up. But a search of the Kaipu'u Street apartment turned up no kidnappers, and that angered many residents who were kept from their homes for about seven hours.

Police continued to look for at least three people who may be armed.

The incident began shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday when police found a car that belonged to the alleged kidnap victim at 737 Kaipu'u St. Police believed the car was stolen from the man and they closed off the entire street and summoned members of the Specialized Services Division, or "SWAT Team."

For nearly six hours, police tried unsuccessfully to contact the person or persons thought to be in a second-floor apartment. Then a robot with camera attached was used to open the apartment door about 9 p.m. to allow officers to search the unit from a distance, said SSD Maj. Mike Brede.

The apartment was cleared shortly after 10 p.m., according to Brede, who said police were searching for at least three people involved in kidnappings Monday and yesterday.

Police said the kidnapping was the result of a failed drug deal Monday. Police said a 22-year-old man picked up drugs from three men, but did not pay for the drugs.

A companion of the man ran off with the drugs, and the 22-year-old man said he was held hostage by the three men in an apartment on Kaipu'u Street. Then yesterday, the man told police, his two captors put a bag over his head and took him at gunpoint to the the Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange to find another man who knew where the drugs were.

Police said an exchange employee was forced at gunpoint into the suspects' car, but he managed to escape and call for help. Navy police caught an 18-year-old man and turned him over to Honolulu police, but the other kidnapper escaped.