Somalia arrests 8 pirates behind MV Abdullah hijacking, reports local media

Somali authorities arrested at least eight pirates from the East Coast of Puntland, a Federal state in northeastern Somalia, just moments after a Bangladeshi ship that was hijacked, was released from the hands of the notorious group operating in the country's waters.

It has not been confirmed whether the ransom money paid to the pirates was recovered during the operation, independent Somali news website Garowe Online reports citing unnamed Puntland Police Force.

"The practice of paying ransoms could potentially encourage more pirate attacks," a Puntland police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, told Garowe Online. The coastline of Puntland has been the target of the pirates for a while.

MV Abdullah and its 23 crew members were safely released on Saturday night following negotiations with the pirates, using the experience of the 2010 hostage situation involving their ship "Jahan Moni", according to the KSRM Group. 

"Our other ship 'Jahan Moni' was hijacked in 2011. It took us a long time to rescue the ship because we lacked experience. However, using that experience, we were able to quickly rescue MV Abdullah this time," said Meherul Karim, CEO of KSRM Group, at a press conference held at the company's office at 12:00 pm in Chattogram's Agrabad Goasail Danga on Sunday.

The MV Jahan Moni was rescued after 100 days of being hijacked with a $4 million ransom.

Meherul said, "Two days ago, we took videos of each crew member of our ship to confirm their safety. All the rules were followed. There were 65 pirates on the ship. On Saturday around 3 am, the ship's captain informed me that the pirates had disembarked from the ship in a speedboat."

He added that all the sailors and crew of the ship are safe and sound. No one was harmed.

However, when asked about the ransom, Meherul Karim declined to comment.

According to Reuters, Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday after a $5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates.

"The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.

Shahariar said MV Abdullah will reach Dubai on 19 or 20 April. The sailors and crew will then return to Bangladesh by flight or ship. He said that the decision on how they will return to the country will be taken after talking to the sailors and crew.

Earlier on Sunday, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said at a press conference that the news and pictures being circulated about ransom are not true. The sailors were released through extensive international pressure and negotiations. It may take 15 to 20 days for them to return.

On 12 March, the Bangladeshi flag carrier MV Abdullah, carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to Dubai, was captured by Somali pirates, along with 23 sailors from the Indian Ocean.