ID :
204245
Mon, 08/29/2011 - 17:51
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Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/204245
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Indian officials blame Somali pirates being trained in Pakistan
Ahmedabad, August 29, 2011 (PPI): Indian officials blame that Somali pirates are being trained in Pakistan to carry out a proxy war against India. Material evidence to support this assertion has been recently recovered. The evidence was obtained from nine foreign nationals caught from a hijacked Iranian vessel - MV Nafis-1, by the Indian Navy 170 nautical miles off Mumbai on August 14, The Economic Times of India reported on Monday.
The vessel was brought to Porbandar on August 15 and those arrested - five Yemenis, two Tanzanians, one Kenyan and one Somali national - were handed over to Porbandar police for interrogation. Gujarat customs officials had seized a large quantity of food items from the vessel and also found that rice packets and juice pouches bore names of Pakistani companies with addresses written in Urdu, report said.
Gujarat customs officials also recovered two AK-47s, a pistol and a cache of foreign currency including $ 86,000 and 1,500 Saudi Riyals. Officials seized bags full of tea leaves, which customs officials believe, were chewed by the pirates to stay awake.
"On several occasions we seized weapons and magazines from pirates or hijacked ships in Indian waters. These weapons bore the stamp of Pakistani ordnance factories. In this case, the guns have no label but the food items are packed and manufactured in Pakistan. Smugglers are not generally found carrying such a large amount of foreign currency," said a senior customs official.
The fact that the foreign nationals were traveling in a low-speed, big-size merchant vessel unlike Somali pirates who use high-speed boats, gave the arrested the benefit of the doubt, said customs officials.
"We are taking no chances and are taking help of respective foreign embassies to know if those arrested have a criminal record. We have three Arabic translators who are helping us with the interrogation. The arrested have confessed that they are smugglers and operate in Arabic countries, and were lost in waters before they were intercepted by Indian forces," said Dipen Bhadran, Porbandar superintendent of police.
In recent times, several attempts have been made to exploit the state's 1,600-km coastline. Customs officials said the 41 ports of Gujarat, including Pipavav, Mundra and Kandla, along the coastline, attract Somali pirates for business purposes.
The vessel was brought to Porbandar on August 15 and those arrested - five Yemenis, two Tanzanians, one Kenyan and one Somali national - were handed over to Porbandar police for interrogation. Gujarat customs officials had seized a large quantity of food items from the vessel and also found that rice packets and juice pouches bore names of Pakistani companies with addresses written in Urdu, report said.
Gujarat customs officials also recovered two AK-47s, a pistol and a cache of foreign currency including $ 86,000 and 1,500 Saudi Riyals. Officials seized bags full of tea leaves, which customs officials believe, were chewed by the pirates to stay awake.
"On several occasions we seized weapons and magazines from pirates or hijacked ships in Indian waters. These weapons bore the stamp of Pakistani ordnance factories. In this case, the guns have no label but the food items are packed and manufactured in Pakistan. Smugglers are not generally found carrying such a large amount of foreign currency," said a senior customs official.
The fact that the foreign nationals were traveling in a low-speed, big-size merchant vessel unlike Somali pirates who use high-speed boats, gave the arrested the benefit of the doubt, said customs officials.
"We are taking no chances and are taking help of respective foreign embassies to know if those arrested have a criminal record. We have three Arabic translators who are helping us with the interrogation. The arrested have confessed that they are smugglers and operate in Arabic countries, and were lost in waters before they were intercepted by Indian forces," said Dipen Bhadran, Porbandar superintendent of police.
In recent times, several attempts have been made to exploit the state's 1,600-km coastline. Customs officials said the 41 ports of Gujarat, including Pipavav, Mundra and Kandla, along the coastline, attract Somali pirates for business purposes.
