Dutch join Germans to tackle piracy

The Netherlands and Germany are to join forces to tackle Somali piracy. The Dutch Public Prosecutor's office has announced that the two countries have formed the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). It will focus on criminal organisations, financers and negotiators involved in piracy.

The JIT will include Dutch military police and investigators, as well as the German state investigation bureau of Lower Saxony, Berlin’s federal police, Eurojust and Europol.

Both countries are involved in the trials of dozens of suspected Somali pirates. It has emerged that there are connections between some of the cases. Investigators have discovered that the same organisations and negotiators are behind some of the incidents.

Somali pirates are known to operate around the Gulf of Aden, off the Somali coast and in parts of the Indian Ocean. They regularly hijack ships and capture crews, demanding millions of euros in ransom. (radionetherlands)

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