South Africa arrests Nigerian pirate, hands him to Dutch authorities

FWN RAPIDE hijacked by the pirates off Nigeria in 2018

FWN RAPIDE hijacked by the pirates off Nigeria in 2018

FWN RAPIDE hijacked by the pirates off Nigeria in 2018

A Nigerian suspected of hijacking a Dutch-flagged freight ship, has been arrested in South Africa and handed over to Dutch authorities. In the Netherlands, the suspect has been ordered jailed for two weeks while investigations continue.

The 29-year-old, whose identity was not released, is suspected of involvement in the hijacking of the FWN Rapide, which was sailing under a Dutch flag when armed pirates boarded it in April last year off the coast of western Africa.

Eleven of the ship’s 14-strong crew were taken hostage and held in the jungles of Nigeria and Cameroon before being released in May 2018 after the shipping company paid a ransom, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service said in a statement.

The suspect was arrested late last year in South Africa and flown to the Netherlands on Thursday.

He appeared Friday at a behind-closed-doors hearing before an investigating judge who ordered him detained for two weeks, AP reported.

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