A Nigerian man suspected of kidnapping the crew of a Dutch cargo ship last year was arrested upon arrival at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands at around 10 a.m. on Thursday, December 5, after being extradited from South Africa.
The man is also suspected of pirating; use of force aboard a ship; hijacking of a vessel and extortion.
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NOS reports that the man was in transit in November when he was arrested at Johannesburg airport. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service had previously issued an international arrest warrant.
Eleven crew members were kidnapped after the general cargo vessel ‘FWN Rapide’ became subject of a piracy attack in Nigerian waters, in the morning hours of 22 April 2018. Based on the initial information, the company reported that pirates attacked the ship prior to entering the port of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Namely, in January, the pirate captain who is considered responsible for the kidnapping of 11 crew from the container ship, FWN Rapide on 21 April 2018 off Nigeria, was intercepted by Interpol in South Africa. Now he fights extradition to the Netherlands in court. During the proceedings, the suspect was claiming that the authorities have caught the wrong man and he will now return on court this week.
In their statements, the ship’s captain stated that the attack was well organized. In fact, the radar did not see the pirates as they used plastic boats, in which the pirates put the crew after abandoning ship.
