A wide-ranging Police investigation is now underway with the confirmation that the 20-year old twins missing since the weekend have been kidnapped.

Four suspects have so far been arrested, with Police saying yesterday they are still looking for a number of other individuals they believe to be associated with the abductions.

And speaking last night, the pair's mother, Rochelle Zuill Cooper, made an emotional appeal for their safe return, while praising Police for their “round the clock” work so far.

“I just want my sons,” she told ZBMNews.

Jahmal and Jahmil Cooper were last seen getting into a jeep at the junction of Court Street and Elliot Street just before 4 a.m on Sunday morning.

It is understood they were then taken to a house on Dock Hill in Devonshire, where Police say they were “held against their will” and repeatedly assaulted by a number of individuals.

Police raided the Devonshire residence on Monday, by which time the twins had been moved to a different location. The house has since been sealed off and forensic investigators from the United States are being flown in to examine the crime scene.

21 Police officers are now involved in the investigation which is being led by Acting Inspector Jerome Laws. Officers from the Serious Crime Unit became involved on Monday morning and are working in conjunction with their colleagues in the Police Support Unit.

Mystery surrounds the reason behind the kidnappings, with Police remaining tight-lipped over a number of scenarios put to them at a Press conference yesterday afternoon.

Assistant Commissioner Carlton Adams refused to confirm or deny whether the vandalism of a Court Street store over the weekend had anything to do with the twins' disappearance.

It is known, however, that one of the suspects in Police custody is the store's lease-holder.

Mr. Adams was similarly non-committal towards the suggestion the kidnappings were a vengeful retaliation relating to an incident which took place at the Devonshire residence more than a year ago.

It is also known that one of the occupants of the house is a commercial fisherman - although Mr. Adams gave no clues as to whether Police suspect the twins may have been taken out to sea.

“Our efforts at this time are being confined to a number of individuals we believe should have information about where these men are,” he said.

“The reasons for their disappearance are still under investigation and we cannot say for sure what they are at this stage. All the activities relating to their disappearance are being looked at. Precisely what is linked to what is difficult to say at this time.”

Asked whether Police fear the worst, Mr. Adams said only that they were very concerned for the twins' welfare.

Police media relations spokesman Dwayne Caines has refused to speak to the character of the kidnapped Cooper twins.

But Police sources have confirmed the two are well known to the Service, with Jahmal having been imprisoned in October last year on a drugs charge.

Mr. Cooper pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis in an increased penalty zone close to a nursery school on Court Street and, unable to pay the $2,000 fine, was sentenced to three months in jail.

He was also fined $500 in February 2003, again for cannabis possession.

Anybody with information about the kidnapping is asked to call Acting Inspector Jerome Laws on 299-4239 or the confidential Crimestoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.