Two members of a sea pirate syndicate, Kelvin Dikuro, aka General Small Voice and Erememi Captain, alias Nwalanta, have recounted their criminal escapades within the Niger Delta region, including Bayelsa and Rivers states.
They revealed how the gang kidnapped 14 foreign sailors, collected ransoms running into N15m and killed military men frustrating their operations.
The suspects were tracked down in their hideouts by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Abba Kyari, relying on intelligence reports by the Nigerian Navy.
They reportedly took part in several operations, where they hijacked foreign vessels and kidnapped crews, who were released after ransom payment.
Dikuro, 24, said he inherited five of the AK-47 rifles they used for operations from his late elder brother arrested in 2017 for kidnapping.
Dikuro stated that N400,000 of the ransom was used to buy ammunition, adding that in their second operation in Bayelsa, five foreign seafarers were abducted.
He said the victims were taken to New Jerusalem Island where they spent days and were released after N10m ransom was paid.
Captain explained that he used to be a fisherman before he was introduced to sea piracy and oil pipeline vandalism by a fleeing member of the gang identified as Owei.
He said the gang also destroyed a navy houseboat at Ekremor with dynamites and killed the military men onboard because the personnel stormed their camps where they kept kidnapped victims and illegally refined petroleum products.
