Bartamaha (Kula-lampur):- The Royal Malaysian Police have taken charge of investigations involving seven Somali pirates who allegedly attacked MT Bunga Laurel in the Gulf of Aden on Jan 20.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar (pic) said police were taking statements from the crew members of the ship as well as the commandos from the navy’s elite ‘Pasukan Khas Laut’ (Paskal).
“We need their statements to assist with our investigations.”
Later, he confirmed all pirates, aged 15 to 35, had no identification documents on them.
“We need to question them and try to get some background details. They can’t communicate in English. It may take some time before we can come out with a result,” he said, after opening the Kuala Lumpur police contingent media centre yesterday.
The police chief would also seek the Immigration Department’s assistance.
The suspects were brought to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang for a medical examination after they arrived in Port Klang at 4am.
They were detained at Bukit Jalil Detention Centre after the police had successfully obtained a seven-day remand order.
“They will be in our custody until Feb 6,” said Ismail.
In the incident, Malaysian naval commandos rescued MT Bunga Laurel from the clutches of Somali pirates armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols about 555km (333 nautical miles) east of Oman.
The rescue mission, codenamed “Operasi Fajar”, was carried out together with the Royal Malaysian Navy’s auxiliary ship Bunga Mas 5.
The commandos overpowered the pirates after a gun-battle that left three pirates injured. None of the commandos sustained injuries.
======================
Source:- Mmail.
