Three Brits and an American Jailed in Somalia for Smuggling Millions to Pirates

Six individuals foreign to Somalia, including 3 Britons and an American have been jailed for 10-15 years after the seizure of an aircraft carrying $3.6 million destined to be paid as a ransom to Somali pirates.

On May 24th, the men identified as Pilot Matthew Brown, Andrew Oaks and Alex James were arrested after the plane landed in Mogadishu carrying $3.6 million cash without the correct paperwork.  The plane was waiting for another small plane to come in and collect the cash to fly it out to a different Somali destination, according to Somali government security official Mohamed Omar.

The American and one of the Briton’s who were carrying the cash were sentenced to 15-year jail terms, as well as $15,000 fines chief justice of Mogadishu’s Banadir court told reporters.  The other four men, including the pilot, were given 10-year terms and have been ordered to pay $10,000 each.  They were charged with bringing money into the country, carrying cash intended for ransom payments, and landing without correct paperwork.

The money being transported has all been confiscated by the government.  It was believed the money to be an arranged ransom payment for seized vessels the MV Suez and the MV Yuan Xiang, which have since both been released earlier this month.

Legal options for the men include a chance to appeal the decision, though there are no embassies in Somalia to aid them, Foreign Office officials have been in talks with the Somali government about the men’s options. 

This is the first time Westerners have been sentenced to jail for involvement in piracy ransom payments.