Somalia: $2.6m parachuted as ransom

The Saudi owner of an Algerian cargo ship whose crew was held by Somali pirates for 10 months admitted paying $2.6 million to free them.

Somalia: $2.6m parachuted as ransom money to pirates

The Saudi owner of an Algerian cargo ship whose crew was held by Somali pirates for 10 months admitted paying $2.6 million to free them in November 2011, an Algerian paper reported on Tuesday.

The ‘MV Blida’, carrying 17 Algerians, six Ukrainians, two Filipinos, one Jordanian and one Indonesian, was captured by a gang of heavily armed pirates on January 1, 2011, on its way from Oman to Tanzania.

Two of hostages were released for health reasons in October that year, with the rest freed the following month when a bag full of cash was parachuted from a plane.

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Source: Horseed Media.