Kidnappings on the rise world over

quot;In many countries, the authorities seem virtually powerless to stem the problem,quot; said Rob Davies, a specialist underwriter at Hilcok. quot;Economic pressures are such in many parts of the world now 8212; particularly in Eastern Europe and parts of Asia 8212; that it would not be surprising to see a further worsening of the situation in the coming months.quot;

In Colombia, the world8217;s ransom capital, there are on average four people kidnapped a day, and in Mexico, the next most risky country, three a day, said Davies.

A total no-go destination for foreigners is the Russian breakaway republic of Chechnya, where four western telecom engineers werekidnapped last week just a fortnight after the release of two Britons held for over a year.

In northern Caucasus, the average ransom for kidnapped westerners is one million dollars, according to Kroll associates, a corporate security company.

However, the worst kidnapping troublespots in the world are in Latin America, where there is a huge gap between the rich and poor, although this mainly affect locals, Davies explained.

quot;In South America, except for Chile and Argentina, there is a massive divide between the wealthy and poor and no social welfare safety net. People just have to rob and steal to survive,quot; he said.

In Colombia in 1997, 887 people were kidnapped according to Hilcok, while in Mexico there were 237 victims last year8212; more than five times the 43 kidnappings in 1996.

Davies said the reported cases of kidnap were just the tip of the iceberg as often families and companies simply paid the ransom and did not inform the police.

In Britain, there is a 50-50 chance that the 250 largestcompanies have taken out a kidnap and ransom insurance policy to protect their staff sent to volatile regions, he said.