MANCHESTER, Jamaica— A former member of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is among three men held by the police after an abduction and robbery in Manchester on Thursday night.

The men were detained following swift action by the police after learning that a market vendor was taken away at gunpoint in Nevermind district, Christiana in the parish.

It is reported that the vendor was abducted shortly after returning from the Coronation Market in downtown Kingston, where he had gone to sell produce.

The vendor was robbed by his abductors of $50,000 cash and a Samsung Galaxy A20 cellular phone.

Police said the robbers threatened to kill the vendor and were transporting him along the Christiana bypass when he wrestled them off and jumped from the moving vehicle. The victim ran to the Christiana police station and made a report.

Swift investigations led the police to Dobson district in the parish, where the three alleged abductors were seen at a shop and accosted. The shop was searched and illegal ammunition, vegetable matter resembling ganja and illegal cigarettes were found and seized.

The shop owner’s car was searched, and an illegal firearm, believed to be the one used in the abduction and robbery was found with several live rounds. All three suspects were taken into police custody.