NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say the latest man indicted in the killing of four American yachters is the highest-ranking pirate they’ve captured in the case.
They said Wednesday that the bilingual Mohammad Saaili Shibin is accused of operating from shore and negotiating ransom payments for the Americans killed in February.
The FBI and the military apprehended Shibin in Somalia sometime last week. He arrived in the U.S. on Friday and his indictment was unsealed Wednesday.
Thirteen Somalis and a man from Yemen pleaded not guilty last month to piracy, kidnapping and firearms charges related to the same hijacking of the yacht Quest. Their trial is scheduled for Nov. 29.
