Somali Pirate Brought to Justice

Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: It’s a case involving Somali pirates, kidnapping, and extortion in the Gulf of Aden. Jama Ibrahim was among a group of pirates who fired AK 47s and handguns and used a rocket-propelled grenade to capture the CEC Future and her crew in November of 2008.

FBI Agent: The 13 crew members were hostages. They had no idea whether they would be killed or hurt.

Halpern: I’m Mollie Halpern of the FBI, and this is “Gotcha”, the FBI’s Closed Case of the Week. The ship was held for 71 days until a $1.7 million ransom was paid. Our investigative agent says this case marks a first for the FBI.

FBI Agent: The conviction is the first in the District of Columbia for a piracy-related offense. It’s also the first time that a pirate has been convicted after the ship was released. Up until this time, they’ve been caught in the act.

Halpern: Agents tied Ibrahim to this case after he was arrested for the attempted piracy of the Navy vessel the USS Ashland in April 2010. Ibrahim was sentenced to a total of 30 years for both cases.