Fish vendor forced to flee to UK

Forced to flee Trinidad.

This is what a fish and shrimp vendor at the Caroni Roundabout says he had to do to escape criminal gangs who were trying to extort him.

Donney Roger Hosein said he had to leave this country and fly to the United Kingdom to escape the gangs whose members threatened his life if he did not pay them a monthly “protection” fee.

Hosein, 40, in an interview with the Express yesterday, claimed that he was targeted by two gangs in January last year.

The fish vendor, who lived in Couva, said he was first approached by three men, one of whom had a cellphone in his hand.

Hosein said he was told that on the other end of the line was a gang member who was in prison and was demanding that the fisherman pay $2,000 a month if he wanted to continue plying his business at the Caroni Roundabout.

Hosein recalled: “It was a Saturday about 1 p.m. and I saw a little commotion was going on. I saw three guys going around to all the fishmen, so I thought they were looking for a certain type of fish. I was sitting across where I was selling so I was watching.

“When they came to my van, I thought they were looking for me to buy from me because there were a lot of people who come looking for me from all over. One of them had a phone in his hand and said the boss wants to talk to you. I say who is the boss? They say the man in charge and he in jail. I say, well I don’t know who you talking about.

“I took the phone and I spoke to him. He said this is the boss from the jail and asked if this is Donney the fishman. I said yes. He said he want $2,000 a month from me, and if he don’t get that money I cannot sell. He say only $2,000 a month, that is only $500 a week.”

Hosein said he told the man on the phone that amount of money would be difficult because he had workmen to pay, he had to buy ice to keep the fish fresh and he had other expenses.

“He say he don’t want to hear that, he have his cell up here and he have to make ah money and this is his area, and he said everybody have to pay or they can’t come and sell here,” Hosein said.

He said the man on the cellphone demanded that he give his men $100 that day and he complied because one of them had a gun.

Hosein said he was shaken and did not return to the area to sell for a week.

He eventually decided to pay the $2,000 a month because all the other vendors were doing it, and he had to sell at the roundabout to make a living.

This continued up to October 2023.

$10,000 demand

Hosein said that in October, he received a call from a different man claiming to be part of a known gang.

The man demanded that he pay $10,000 a month to sell at the roundabout.

“The man said, ‘Hear what is the scene, we want $10,000 in the morning and if you don’t give we that $10,000, we going to kill yuh.’ I got frightened,” the vendor said.

Hosein said he was sure he was being followed at that point because the man knew he had just come home.

“I say, ‘Boy, I have loan to pay, I real catching my tail right now and my mother and father sick.’ He say, ‘Hear what going on, soldier, yuh have to pay the money, boy. Yuh paying it, yes or no?’”

Hosein said he was afraid and went to a friend’s house to spend the night.

The next day, he said he went to the Chaguanas Police Station to report that his life was being threatened and let the officers listen to the threats as the man kept calling him.

From there, he was referred to the Couva Police Station where he made the report and was advised by the officers not to pay any money because that would be a lifelong commitment and he could still lose his life.

Couva police could not be immediately reached for comment yesterday.

Depressed and alone

Hosein said he was frightened for his life and sold his pick-up and truck for a lot less than their market value and scraped up what little savings he had and fled to the United Kingdom three days later.

He told the Express that he feels alone, depressed and suicidal at times.

“Sometimes, I sit down in a bus in this cold weather and I think about how happy my life was in Trinidad, and these people just come and attacked me over there,” he said.

Hosein, who is currently living off his small savings, said: “I over here not making a dollar now.”

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