Pakistan is kidnap hotspot

The Times claims 19 of 25 international kidnappings of Britons reported to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) last year were in Pakistan, double that of 2008, when ten abductions were notified to Soca.

Lloyd’s insurance market says that the kidnap situation worldwide “could be set to deteriorate as the global recession continues to bite”.

Control Risks says kidnapping have moved from Latin America to Asia. In 2003, 65% of reported kidnaps were in Latin America. By 2009 that had fallen to 37% with Asian kidnappings making up 36%, compared with 19% six years earlier.

Different targets and demands

“Not only has the number of countries harbouring serial kidnap groups expanded, but so has the range of victim profiles and demands,” says Control Risks’ RiskMap 2009.

Richard Scurrell, divisional director of kidnap insurance experts Special Contingency Risks, says: “Countries that did not previously have an endemic kidnap problem are developing one.

“We are seeing a growing problem in countries where five or six years ago there wasn’t a problem, such as Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.”