Stowaways paid $250 each to get on ship

JUNE 16: Interrogation of the stowaways who staged a ``hijack'' on the cargo ship M V Med Star has revealed that they were part of a human...

JUNE 16: Interrogation of the stowaways who staged a “hijack” on the cargo ship M V Med Star has revealed that they were part of a human trafficking racket and paid $ 250 each to flee from the war-ravaged countries.

Deputy Inspector General, Coast Guard (western region), P Paleri told Newsline that initial investigations have revealed that some of the stowaways have paid 250 dollars per head to a gang in Iran to help them escape to Europe. The mafia managed to sneak the 14 men into the cargo vessel before she sailed for India, Paleri added.

Interrogation of the stowaways has proved that the hijack alarm was a hoax, as reported by this newspaper on June 13. The ship was intercepted by the Coast Guard on June 12 after she entered the Indian waters off the Kandla coast in Gujarat.

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Investigations have revealed that the stowaways were led to believe that M V Med Star was bound for a port in Italy. However, they were upset when they learnt that the ship was heading for an Indian port and threatened the master to divert the vessel to Europe, where they could seek political asylum.

The stowaways told investigators that the money was paid to the agent at Bandar-e-Abbas in Iran before the ship sailed. This was possible with the connivance of some local policemen, senior Coast Guard officials disclosed.

Initially, 17 persons made an attempt to illegally board the ship at Bandar-e-Abbas port in Iran. Three persons were arrested red-handed and were handed over to the Iranian police, sources disclosed.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that some of the stowaways are deserters from the army and were fleeing from their country to change their identity. Their physical prowess and military training made them even more dangerous, a senior officer pointed out.

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Though investigations have revealed that the stowaways were not armed, intelligence agencies are trying to establish whether they had links with the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operatives in the Persian Gulf.

The stowaways, suspected to be Iranians (10) and Iraqis (4), had illegally boarded the ship at Bandar-e-Abbas in the early hours of June 8. But the ship’s Croatian master, Deskovic Sengie, informed the owner Alcove Shipping Company in Germany about the hijacking the next day at 11.30 pm, no less than 36 hours later.

Senior executives of the Germany-based P&I Club and the United Nations Human Rights Commission are still trying to negotiate asylum for the hijackers in some European country. A representative of the shipping company is co-ordinating with the immigration authorities for quick release of the ship.

Meanwhile, the harbour police attached to Yellow Gate police station have thrown a cordon around the beseiged ship since Thursday evening. The stowaways have been locked in their cabin to prevent them from escaping.