Goooood night sir. The Al Capone of Somalia is done for. The man responsible for the Sirius Star hijacking in Harardheere and the don of the operations in Eyl, is over.
Security forces in Puntland's administrative capital of Garowe on Tuesday nabbed a group of suspected pirates led by famous Somali pirate called Abdirizaq Abdullahi “Boyah”.
The forces also seized some $26000, pistols and a Toyota Surf 4x4 vehicle, which belonged to the pirates.
Reports said Boyah and four other men were planning to leave the city, when the security forces got the information and caught up with them.
The man gained international publicity through the media when he led sea gangs in hijacking many foreign vessels, making millions of dollars in ransom. However, he recently denounced piracy after heeding with local clerics’ appeal.
According to some clerics who spoke to Garowe Online, the reformed pirates returned to the lucrative but risky business after failing to get other source of income as promised by the government.
Officials from the Nugaal regional administration and security officers told reporters that the arrest is part of the Puntland’s plans to get rid of the piracy in its shorelines.
The government of Puntland led by President Abdirahman Mohammed Farole has vowed to eradicate the piracy scourge along its coastlines, a move that has seen the decline of pirates' activities in regions under Puntland’s control.
But the government lacks support from the international community, which deployed fleets in Somalia, to tackle the menace.
GAROWE ONLINE
