Somali authorities seize pirate ransom money

Somali authorities on Tuesday detained six foreigners and seized two aircraft and 3.6 million dollars in cash they were carrying, assuming that the money was a planned ransom payment to pirates, said NGO Ecoterra, citing Somali police sources.

The two US citizens, two Britons and two Kenyans were arrested at Mogadishu's Aden Adde international airport after their aircraft made an unscheduled stop due to a shortage of fuel.

The Somali transitional government does not approve of the payment of ransoms for piracy, which is rampant off the shores of the chaos-ridden country. The government said it called an emergency meeting, adding that the money was taken to the Central Bank of Somalia for safekeeping.

Citing informed sources, Ecoterra stated that the money was probably intended for the release of the Egyptian-owned MV Suez and the Chinese-owned MV Yuan Xiang and their crews.

The government did not make any statements as to how it would help obtain the release of the many ships and their personnel held off the Somali coast.

The NGO estimates that there are currently at least 44 ships and almost 700 crewmembers being held by pirates off Somalia.

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