Pirates made millions of dollars last year in ransoms for hijacked vessels and crews, according to the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC, Yury Fedotov
Yury Fedotov, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia, is increasingly becoming an issue of concern.
He warned that the laundering of money from piracy is causing steep price rises in the Horn of Africa.
Fedotov said the money is also being reinvested into criminal activities such as drugs, weapons and alcohol smuggling as well as human trafficking.
/// Cue in: “Based on our data, in 2011, pirates received about $170 million in ransoms
Cue out: … much as 10 million was paid for the release of a tanker.///
