Tag: pirates arrested

The heavily armed pirates that held a Danish family hostage last year were among a number of bandits arrested by police in Somalia's northern Puntland region, officials said Monday.Troops from semi-autonomous Puntland attacked the northeastern pirate base of Hafun on Sunday, arresting 11 men including suspected pirate Mohamed Hassan -- known as Dhafoor -- and seizing automatic rifles and a machine gun."Dhafoor ... is a well-known pirate wanted by Puntland authorities for hijacking commercial vessels traveling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden waterways," Puntland's security forces said in a statement.The authorities accuse Dhafoor of killing five Puntland security officers during a botched March 2011 operation to release a Danish family he was reportedly holding hostage, in a case that made headlines worldwide.Pirates captured the seven Danes - a family including three teenage children, plus two crew members - in February 2011 during a round-the-world voyage.They were released in September after the reported payment of a multi-million dollar ransom.Piracy has flourished off war-torn Somalia, outwitting international efforts to stamp out the scourge, including patrols by warships and tough sentencing of captured pirates.The pirates are holding dozens of ships and hundreds of sailors for ransom, and have also branched out into ...

Hijack success rate for Somali pirates has dropped sharply in recent months Police in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland arrested 11 pirates and recovered rifles, a heavy machinegun and a truck, the region's authorities said.Somali pirate gangs typically seize ships in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, holding their cargo and crews for ransom. They have raked in an estimated $150 million in ransoms, security analysts say, in what has become a highly organised, international criminal enterprise."On Sunday morning ... PMPF (Puntland Maritime Police Force) captured 11 pirates in a security operation in Hafun District," Puntland's Security Ministry said in a statement."The pirates arrested ... include Mohamed Mohamud Mohamed Hassan (Dhafoor), who is a well-known pirate wanted by Puntland authorities for hijacking commercial vessels travelling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden waterways," it said.The ministry said the police also recovered a Toyota truck, seven AK-47 assault rifles and one heavy machinegun.The statement said Hassan was part of a gang that killed five members of Puntland's security forces during an operation to rescue a kidnapped Danish family last year.Despite successful efforts to quell attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international navies have struggled to contain piracy in the ...

For hijacing the UAE ship MV Arrilah Ten Somalis who hijacked the UAE ship MV Arrilah were this morning sentenced to life in prison.The Federal Court ruled that following their 25-year sentences, the men should be deported. The court also ordered the confiscation of all the missiles and explosives found by the special forces troops who retook the ship in a daring raid that led to the capture of the men.Counter-terrorism units stormed the bulk oil carrier in April last year after it was hijacked in the Arabian Sea, east of Oman, en route from Australia to Jebel Ali.The 37,000-tonne ship is owned by two subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the rescue was said at the time to show the UAE's commitment to act firmly against piracy.In a previous hearing the pirates' lawyer Ahmed Al Othali argued that they were forced to carry out the attack.The verdict is subject to appeal.Source: The National

Located in Hargeisa the capital of Somaliland Somali pirates captured on the high seas and prosecuted in other countries are now being transferred to a new prison in Somalia. It's a significant change for countries combating piracy but are seeing their own jail systems overwhelmed as the U.S. and other countries continue to catch and turn over pirates to countries willing to prosecute them.The prison, located in Hargeisa the capital of Somaliland, accepted its first detainees at the end of March, according to U.S. State Department officials. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime is paying for the transport and the prison facility, according to U.S. State Department officials.The first prisoners were transferred from the tiny island nation of Seychelles, located off the east coast of Africa, where small facilities have been quickly overcrowded. The new prison is in Hargeisa, the capital of the self-governed breakaway republic of Somaliland. The region declared its independence in 1991 and has remained relatively violence-free and self-sustaining, unlike the southern part of the country. Somaliland's government will run the facility.Seychelles, Kenya and Mauritius have offered to prosecute and hold pirate prisoners, but the capacity to keep up with the flood of new arrivals ...

All eleven pirates that were apprehended by EU Naval Force warship FS Nivose All eleven pirates that were apprehended by EU Naval Force warship FS Nivose in May 2009 and transferred to Kenyan authorities in May 2009 were found guilty on 19 April 2012. By ruling of the Magistrate the eleven pirates now face 20 years imprisonment.It was 3 years ago when French frigate FS Nivose - part of the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta, stopped a pirate mother ship (see EU NAVFOR article). The pirates had tried to escape in two skiffs, but the frigate's helicopter foiled the attempt. With the evidence found and confiscated, the suspects were detained and handed over to Kenyan authorities for onwards prosecution.In April 2012, the legal finish that the EU Naval Force seeks with every disruption, has been achieved and counter piracy efforts rewarded with a 20 year jail term for those pirates.Source: EUNAVFOR

Seven Somali pirates arrested in the Mozambique Channel The South African Navy replenishment ship SAS Drakensberg has helped catch seven Somali pirates in the Mozambique Channel, in the Navy's first hands-on capture of pirates since it began patrolling the waters off the East coast as part of Operation Copper.According to the South Africa Navy (SAN), the capture of the pirates started off with an unsuccessful pirate attack on a Filipino merchant vessel last Friday at the Northern end of the Mozambican Channel. At about the same time, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Dar Es Salaam raised concern regarding the safety of a South African owned yacht, the Dandelion, en route from the French Island of Mayotte to the Mozambican port of Pemba.By Sunday, the French Navy, who takes responsibility for this area in terms of Search and Rescue, had requested the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist in search efforts.The SAS Drakensberg, with anti-piracy assets onboard, was already conducting patrol duties in the Mozambican Channel at that time as part of Operation Copper. The Drakensberg immediately commenced with a search for the missing yacht with the assistance of its embarked helicopter and a French maritime patrol aircraft.On ...

Spanish vessel arrests 7 other pirates on mother ship Tanzania has arrested five suspected Somali pirates on an island close to its natural gas reserves in the southern part of the east African country, the army said on Friday.Tanzania's coastline is fast becoming a major gas hub with major discoveries made there."The Tanzanian navy arrested the pirates in their skiff on April 18 near the Songsongo gas fields. Each of the five pirates was found in possession of a sub-machine gun," Tanzanian army spokesman Kapambale Mgawe said."The pirates arrested in Tanzania were in close communication with a mother ship that has seven more pirates. A Spanish vessel has managed to arrest the pirates on this mother ship and they are being brought to Tanzania today for custody."Mgawe said the mother ship used by the pirates was formerly a Sri Lankan fishing vessel with six crew members on board."The Tanzanian navy has been conducting regular patrols to ensure Somali pirates do not enter our territorial waters from deep seas to carry out attacks," he said.Last October, Tanzania arrested seven suspected Somali pirates following an attack on an oil and gas exploration ship operated by Brazilian petroleum company Petrobras off the coast ...

After Iranian commandos rescued the hijacked ship The war on piracy in the Horn of Africa has received a major boost following the capture of one of the world's most wanted Somali pirate leaders, Mohamed Garad.Garad, a former British soldier, is said to have been arrested together with 12 other suspected pirates on April 4 by Iranian commandos after they hijacked a Chinese cargo ship.The co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Association, Mr Andrew Mwangura, said Garad was captured after the seizure of the Chinese vessel, Xianghuamen, last week.Xianghuamen is a Panama-flagged general cargo vessel owned by Nanjing Ocean Shipping Company of China."Garad had been on the run for many decades. He was elusive and sly and had slipped out of all the security dragnets before. His capture is the greatest good news in the war against piracy and terrorism," Mr Mwangura said yesterday.'Old hand'The coordinator described Garad as "an old, experienced hand and a role model in the piracy world", who has been linked to hundreds of ship hijack cases in the Horn of Africa."To experts and those who knew Garad, he was like Carlos the Jackal in the crime world and Dedan Kimathi to the British colonialists, mysterious ...