Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Nigeria and Malaysia: Pirates Lose Two Far Apart Rounds

A couple of reports of the criminal crowd taking losses - one from Nigeria and one from Malaysia.

First, Nigeria: Army, Navy arrest sea pirates:
A combined team of Nigerian Army in Okitipupa and men of Naval base in Igbokoda in Ondo state yesterday jointly arrested about 16 sea pirate who have been tormenting the waterways with illegal bunkering activities.

The arrest followed a tip off from a private security outfit on waterways, GlobalWest Fleet who had earlier apprehended one of the pirates in Lagos who dealt in illegal activities on the high seas.
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The said suspects were said to be involved in hijacking of crude oil ship on high seas and selling off the contents.
And, now, Malaysia: MMEA Foil Pirates' Sale of Syphoned Bunkers"":
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Friday prevented an attempt by six pirates from syphoning off and selling bunker fuel from a hijacked vessel in the waters off Tanjung Piai in Pontian, Malaysia, the New Straits Times reports.
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MMEA southern region enforcement chief First Admiral Adon Shalan said they spotted unusual ship-to-ship activity between MT Scorpio and MT Sea Jade at 2.15pm and as a nearby MMEA patrol boat approached the two vessels, six masked men were seen fleeing in a wooden boat installed with a high-powered engine, which was next to MT Scorpio.

Investigations onboard MT Scorpio indicated that the vessel had been hijacked, and all 12 crew members, which consisted of 10 Indonesians, a Chinese national, and a Sri Lankan, had their hands tied.
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Additional investigation showed fuel-siphoning activity and indicated that the pirates, having tied up the crew, impersonated crew members of MT Scorpio and offered to sell fuel to MT Sea Jade at a below-market price.
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The six pirates were believed to be members of a syndicate with a wide network in monitoring vessel movement along the Straits of Malacca, especially off the west coast of Johor, the report said.
Small wins in a big fight.

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