British teacher escapes kidnapper’s car boot after two days in captivity

11 April 2025 , 09:07

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British teacher escapes kidnapper’s car boot after two days in captivity

A British teacher was taken hostage in the Caribbean and only managed to escape after jumping out of his kidnapper’s car boot.

Zaheer Esat, who runs a private school in Leicestershire, was visiting Trinidad to see his parents when his kidnapper held him at gunpoint.

He used a car to block the 46-year-old and his 70-year-old dad and brother-in-law as they drove back from a mosque near the island’s west coast.

Zaheer was dragged into the kidnapper’s vehicle and not seen again for another two days.

He was discovered by a a passer-by wandering a cremation site about six miles away from the scene and taken to police.

Officers were told he had escaped by jumping out of the boot of a car after being moved by his kidnappers.

Richard Smith, the assistant commissioner of police, announced that a 28-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the incident.

A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said: ‘We provided support to a British man who was reported missing in Trinidad and were in contact with the local authorities.’

Zaheer, who is of dual Trinidadian and British nationality, had not been carrying a mobile phone when he was kidnapped.

According to his LinkedIn, he is the director at the Lewis Charlton Group of Learning Centres, a private school for pupils with emotional and special educational needs. 

Elizabeth Baker

Technology & Business Editor