Wednesday June 22, 2005

Duo nabbed over ship hijack

BY LOURDES CHARLES

KUALA LUMPUR: Two men, suspected to be accomplices of the mastermind behind the hijacking of a diesel-laden tanker off Langkawi last Tuesday, have been arrested.

It is learnt that a special taskforce set up by the Kedah police arrested the duo in the Klang Valley during an operation yesterday.

They have since been remanded to assist police in their investigations.

Sources familiar with the investigation said the taskforce had identified the mastermind.

They said the taskforce, which was supervised by Kedah police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Supian Amat, had been working round the clock to nab those involved.

The sources added that the team, made up of experienced officers from various divisions, tracked down the mastermind's activities following the arrest of 14 pirates, including two crew members of the tanker MT Nepline Delima.

“All the pirates, who are currently detained at the Kedah police headquarters, are expected to be further remanded,” said the sources.

The RM40mil MT Nepline Delima, with 6,300 tonnes of diesel worth RM12mil, was en route to Myanmar from Singapore when pirates took over the tanker off Langkawi last week.

In the incident, the pirates held the captain and crew hostage for 12 hours before surrendering to marine police.

Their capture was brought about by the tanker’s bosun Mohamed Hamid, who dived into the sea, stole the pirates' speed boat and returned with five police patrol boats, including a PZ15 gunboat.

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