Kidnapped British boy found safe in Pakistan

The five-year-old British boy kidnapped while on holiday in Pakistan nearly two weeks ago was today found wandering in a field after being released alone at 9am, police said. Sahil Saeed, of Oldham, Greater Manchester, was snatched from a house in the Punjab region of the country on 4 March, after robbers held his family hostage at gunpoint.

The assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester police, Dave Thompson, said Sahil was released by his hostages in Kharian, about 25 miles (40km) from Jhelum, the town in Punjab where he was kidnapped."It's with some delight and considerable relief that Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, was released at 4.10am GMT this morning in Kharian city in Pakistan by his hostage takers," Thompson said.

"The release was made as a result of a phone call made to his family. He was released nearby to a school, alone, wandered into a local field and was found by some local residents who looked after him until such time his family found him with the police. "At this time, I believe he is well, considering the terrible ordeal he would have been through."

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Has Piracy Spread to Europe's Waters? Update 6: Questions Remain

On Wednesday, Russian state news agencies quoted a Defense Ministry official as saying that eight hijackers who were detained on Monday had threatened to blow up the ship and its crew if a ransom of $1.5 million wasn't paid. He said the hijackers, who appear to have taken control of the ship shortly after it left Finland, and the crew continue to be questioned.

Russia says it has four Estonians, two Latvians, and two Russians in custody. They were arrested "during the operation to liberate the Arctic Sea," which was carried out by a Russian warship. The ships 15-man crew are all Russian nationals.

"Extortion and hijacking – that's where we are concentrating our investigation ... and that's the only thing we have factual evidence for," says Jan-Olof Nyholm, a detective superintendent for Finland's National Bureau of Investigation. But doubts about this version of events continue to swirl.

Political analysts and maritime security experts remain skeptical that the hijackers were merely interested in the crew or the ship's cargo – a load of lumber bound for Algeria.

"Russia says Arctic Sea hijackers demanded ransom, threatened to blow up ship", Christian Science Monitor, 8/19/09.

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Has Piracy Spread to Europe's Waters? Update 3: The Search Continues

Russian crew under 'significant threat' as search continues for missing ship Arctic Sea

An international maritime hunt for the Maltese flagged and Russian owned vessel, involving 20 nations and led by the Russian military and Western alliance, was in operation this weekend after it was last sighted off the West African coast on Friday. The operation is in full swing and it's unfolding positively. The pace gives us grounds to hope for success," Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to Nato, told Russia's state-run Vesti broadcaster.

The Malta Maritime Authority said a media blackout on operations over the "alleged aggravated extortion and alleged hijacking" was in place to protect the lives of the crew.

Finnish police investigators confirmed this weekend that a ransom demand had been received by the MV Arctic Sea's Russian owners, based in Finland, following a raid on the ship by armed intruders three weeks ago. The precise figure of the "largish amount of money" demanded by the hijackers has not been released by the authorities.

"There has been a demand for ransom, which is money, and the demand has been made to the company which owns the ship," said Jan Nyholm, a Finnish detective chief superintendent.

Finland's YLE radio station has reported police sources who said that "the lives of the crew have been threatened if the ransom is not paid". The Arctic Sea's crew reported a first boarding in Swedish waters on Jul 24 after a raid by 10 armed English-speaking men masquerading as anti-narcotics police officers.

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Has Piracy Spread to Europe's Waters? Update 2: Ransom Demand?

Finnish police say a ransom demand has been made for a missing Russian-manned cargo vessel, the Arctic Sea. The demand - which has not been confirmed as genuine - was put to the ship's Finnish owners, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said. A Finnish radio station said it had been told the 15 crew members' lives would be at risk if it was not paid.

Mystery surrounds the location of the Arctic Sea, last sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July. The 4,000-tonne Maltese-flagged vessel, which had been carrying timber, went off radar after passing through the English Channel. A recent sighting off Africa's Cape Verde islands is still to be confirmed.

There has been huge speculation over the reason for the ship's disappearance, ranging from pirates to a mafia dispute to a commercial quarrel. The matter is being jointly investigated by Finnish, Maltese and Swedish police.

• “'Ransom demand' for missing ship”, BBC News, 8/15/09.
• “Missing Ship Arctic Sea’s Owner Gets Ransom Demand”, Bloomberg, 8/15/09.
• “Police say ransom demanded in Arctic Sea mystery”, CNN, 8/15/09.
• "The Maritime Dimension of International Security", Rand, 2008.
  

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