By Kim Rahn
The Somali pirates who hijacked the Korean freighter Samho Jewelry were also involved in the earlier hijacking of Samho Dream, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutors at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office Friday indicted five Somali pirates, who had been brought to Korea after the South Korean Navy commandos’ rescue operation on Jan. 21, on six charges including attempted murder, maritime burglary and hostage taking. They are subject to punishment that could include life imprisonment.
One of the pirates, 23-year-old Arai Mahomed, was also charged with attempted murder as he is suspected of having shot the freighter’s captain Seok Hae-kyun and critically wounding him.
The prosecution said that some of the pirates who hijacked the Samho Jewelry took part in capturing the Samho Dream, a supertanker owned by the same company, Samho Shipping. It was seized last April and released in exchange for a huge ransom in November.
“We showed photos of the pirates who captured the Samho Jewelry to the Samho Dream crew, and some of them remembered four or five pirates, saying they saw them while they were captured,” prosecutor Jeong Jeom-sik said.
Prosecutors also obtained 12 phone numbers from satellite communications, which were made to and from both Samho Dream and Samho Jewelry.
They also confirmed that the piracy is conducted through “operation groups” that hijack ships, “investors” who provide the pirates with jet boats, arms and food, and “negotiators” in charge of talks with shipping companies.
“We couldn’t get more details about other collaborators behind the piracy, as the chief and vice chief of the pirate group, who may have known the investors well, died,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutors said the pirates were unlikely to have targeted the Samho Jewelry from the beginning but happened to discover the ship. “They attempted to hijack five to six other ships to no avail before Samho Jewelry,” the prosecutor said.
2 bullets from Korean dommandoes
The prosecution reaffirmed that Mahomed shot the captain, although he denies even carrying a gun on the bridge, where Seok was shot.
“We confirmed that Mahomed’s shooting caused the captain’s ‘critical wounds’ through testimonies from sailors, other pirates and rescue commandoes, analysis on Seok’s wounds and bullets removed from his body and examination of the AK-47 rifle he used,” the prosecutor said.
Among three bullets the investigation team analyzed, one was fired from the AK-47 rifle, and the other two, from MP5s used by Korean commandoes.
“One of the MP5 bullets was removed from Seok’s right side and the other, from his right knee. They were stray bullets and didn’t cause critical damage. He had eight wounds, and one AK-47 bullet penetrated his body,” the prosecutor said.
The bullet that went through the captain’s body damaged the liver and intestines, according to the prosecution.