POLICE chief Francis Forbes yesterday appealed to Scotland Yard for help in cracking the case of the two men who have been missing since two days before Christmas, and at the same time ordered the detention of one of the three policemen who have been implicated in the case.

The name of the policeman has not been released, but he is believed to be assigned to the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) and one of the officers taken off active duty last week in the face of the investigations.

"He (the policeman) is scheduled to face an identification parade later this week," the police's information agency, the Constabulary Communications Network (CCN) reported.

Kemar Walters, 20, and Oliver Duncan, 28, were last seen on December 23 when they were apparently handcuffed and taken into custody by three policemen at Washington Plaza, on Washington Boulevard, near Duhaney Park in Kingston.

Eyewitnesses are believed to have reported that the two men were driven away in a unmarked police car by two of the policemen, while the third drove the Honda CRV all-terrain vehicle in which Walters and Duncan were travelling.

The police last week found the burnt-out shell of a Honda CRV on the Palisadoes strip, with its chassis number partially erased and a licence plate that did not belong to the vehicle.
But there was no sign of either Walters or Duncan in the vehicle or in the surrounding mangroves and beach.

Forbes, who steps down as police commissioner on January 19, had ordered that the case be given priority and Senior Superintendent Calvin Benjamin of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) was assigned to head the probe.

The police's Office of Professional Responsibility has also been investigating the case.

But yesterday Forbes, apparently unconvinced that local detectives were capable of breaking the case on their own, turned to the London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) for assistance - a strategy he employed a year-and-half ago in investigating the Crawle killings in which four persons, including two women, were shot dead by the police in that
Clarendon community by the police.

The police said that there as shoot-out but residents claimed murder.

The investigation led to the arrest, for murder, of seven members of the Crime Management Unit (CMU), including its controversial leader, Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams. The CMU, which had been accused of engaging in extra-judicial killings, was also disbanded.

It was not clear last night when Scotland Yard detectives would arrive in Jamaica and what element of the investigation they would undertake, but it was assumed that they will be primarily involved in forensic work, including a re-examination of the burnt Honda CRV.

The families of Walters and Duncan had complained about the slow pace of the police investigations and last Friday residents of Kitson Town, St Catherine where Walters lived, blocked roads to make their point.

Walters' family also believe that the young man's disappearance contributed to the collapse and death of a great-uncle of Walters by causing stress which aggravated his hypertension.

"He (the dead great-uncle) was very worked-up over the incident and took part in the demonstration," said Garfield Angus, a relative.

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