The Somalia Pirates Lose This One!

Kenyan security forces arrested Somali pirates in Kenyan waters for the first time, taking 11 suspected gunmen into custody after a failed attempt to hijack a fishing vessel. Kenya is one of the few east

African countries prepared to put pirates on trial and has more than 100 suspects in jail facing charges. But, so far, the Somalis have all been captured by foreign navies patrolling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Police sources said the suspects ran out of fuel at sea, hijacked a fishing boat and ordered the crew to sail to Somalia. But one of the crew made a telephone call which led to the intervention of Kenyan security forces based in Lamu. One source said the suspects ditched their weapons and skiffs
when they realised the police were nearby. Earlier a Kenyan court sentenced seven Somalis to 20 years in prison for piracy after British Royal Navy forces arrested them in 2008 trying to attack a Danish cargo vessel. Ten more pirates are serving seven-year jail terms in Kenya. The French navy has also taken a large number of suspected pirates to Puntland, the semi-autonomous northern region of Somalia. A judge in Puntland sentenced 22 suspects to six years in jail for acts of piracy in waters off Somalia. He released two boys, seized with the others by the French navy, as he said it could not be proved they were pirates.
Puntland's security minister told reporters on Saturday the French navy had handed over another six suspects, in addition to 22 suspected gunmen delivered by French forces.