Crewmembers Arrested For Aiding Pirate Kidnapping On Their Own Vessel

Authorities in Ghana have arrested four individuals in connection with the kidnapping of three Chinese crew members during a pirate attack on a Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel.

The incident took place on March 27 when the fishing vessel Mengxin 1, which is Ghanaian-flagged but Chinese-operated, came under attack about 16 nautical miles off the coast of Accra, near Yenyano waters close to Tema.

The pirates arrived in wooden canoes powered by outboard motors and boarded the vessel around 5:53 p.m., firing warning shots. Some crew members managed to hide, while others were forced onto the deck.

During the three-hour-long ordeal, the pirates gathered the accessible crew, seized their mobile phones, and damaged the ship’s radio communication systems before fleeing the vessel in speedboats.

They took three crew members hostage- the captain, the chief mate, and the chief engineer- all Chinese nationals.

The remaining crew managed to steer the ship closer to shore to regain mobile network coverage and reported the attack.
Authorities launched a search operation, but the pirates were not found immediately.

According to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Lydia Ayaako Donkor, the hostages were transported by sea for about 24 hours while blindfolded.

They were then taken further inland to a remote and marshy location in Nigeria’s Delta region using motorcycles. Eventually, they were forced to walk to a secluded camp, where they were held at gunpoint.

Donkor said the victims remained in captivity for nearly a month until April 25, when the kidnappers abandoned them for reasons yet unknown.

The Chinese officers then walked to a nearby village, where local residents assisted them in contacting the Chinese embassy in Lagos. The embassy coordinated with Ghanaian authorities to ensure their safe return and post-rescue debriefing.

In a surprising development, police arrested four suspects believed to have been involved in planning the abduction.

Among them were Mengxin 1’s crew members, including the bosun, the Chinese cook Zhao Lang Hao, and the second engineer Zhao Hua. Another suspect, identified as Sueva Victor, was also taken into custody, along with Kojo Akweli, Eugene Chibuke, and Mwonam.

All the suspects were arraigned before the Tema District Court as investigations continued.

Police authorities confirmed that security agencies in both Ghana and Nigeria are now working together to uncover the full network behind the kidnapping and to track down any remaining suspects.

Donkor did not elaborate on the exact charges or the motives behind the attack, but confirmed that the case remains under active investigation.

References: ghananewsonline, thecable

Source: Maritime Shipping News