ANNA-KAY Bligen, the 18 year-old woman who was kidnapped Tuesday by gunmen who demanded $250,000 for a rifle seized by the police on Monday, was freed by her captors Thursday night.

It was not clear yesterday if any money was paid to the men, who had taken the young woman from her family home in Grants Pen, a volatile community in Kingston, the Jamaican capital.

Police from the St Andrew North Division say the woman was abducted after they recovered an Egyptian-made AK 47 assault rifle in a yard in an area known as Top Gully at Grants Pen Drive in Kingston.

The police said they had gone into the area because of a recent flare-up of violence which left two people dead. The weapon, the cops said, was found during a routine yard-to-yard search.

The woman, Grants Pen residents said, was taken hostage by men who were angry that they lost their weapon. The $250,000-ransom was demanded to replace the weapon.

"Them want back them gun or the money fi buy another one," a resident of Grants Pen told the Observer yesterday.

In the meantime, police blamed gangs from "Top Gully" and "Bottom Gully" in Grants Pen for the latest round of violence in the inner-city community.

A source told the Observer that most of the gang members are teenagers.

Tarrus Riley shoots video for Start Anew

Naomi Campbell to open retrospective photo show

A pleasant evening of music and much more