A leader of a gang of pirates in the waters of Somalia claims that conditions of poverty will always motivate the pirates. From CNN: Somalis are so desperate to survive that attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean will not stop, a pirate leader promises. “The pirates are living between life and [...]

The largest every crackdown on wildlife smugglers in Africa arrested 57 people. From the BBC: More than one tonne of ivory products has been seized in Africa’s largest-ever international crackdown on wildlife crime. The operation, co-ordinated by Interpol and the Kenya Wildlife Service, led to the arrest of 57 illegal traders across five African nations. The haul also included [...]

A Vietnamese diplomat was caught by a news crew smuggling rhino horns in South Africa. From Bloomberg News: ietnam recalled a diplomat from its embassy in South Africa after a television program allegedly showed her trafficking rhino horn, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The employee was filmed by the South African Broadcasting Corporation talking to an [...]

As pirates continue to hold hostages off the coast of Somalia, the process to pay out ransoms remains a tricky business for those paying. From the Guardian: The lesson from recent years in the Gulf of Aden is that piracy pays, and it is a lesson that has not been lost on the pirates. Piracy is big business [...]

Although the issue of pirates are receiving most of the news coverage in Somalia, human smugglers are also prevalent in the area. From the New York Times Blog: Another set of unsavory characters also plies the Gulf’s azure waters. Human smugglers traffic thousands of people each year from war-torn Somalia to Yemen, about 100 miles across the [...]

South Africa will sell elephant ivory to China and Japan despite international concern. From the AP (via Google News): It said that more than 20,000 elephants a year are killed illegally in Africa and Asia for the ivory black market, with Chinese nationals implicated in illegal ivory seizures in more than 20 African nations. Five years ago, the [...]

Angola is asking a French court to stop an arms trafficking trail because the case would harm the national security of the country. From the AP (via IHT): A lawyer representing Angola, Francis Teitgen, argued that the investigation jeopardized the African country’s defense secrets and that letting this information emerge in a public trial would be an [...]

The pirates holding a Ukraine ship filled with arms is currently negotiating a $8 million bounty. From the IHT: The Somali pirates who hijacked an arms-laden Ukrainian freighter nearly two weeks ago may soon be getting their treasure — loads of it, maritime officials and associates of the pirates said on Wednesday. After sticky negotiations, which several people involved [...]

A group of high-profile members of French’s elite are heading to trial for trafficking arms to the African state of Angola. From the Financial Times: Thirteen members of France’s political establishment will go on trial on Monday over the sale in spite of an international arms embargo of millions of dollars in weapons to oil-rich Angola. Jacques Attali, [...]

Here are several news articles on the pirates off the coast of Somalia.  Piracy costing shippers between $18 to $30 million in ransom payments this year (Financial Times).  374 hostages held by pirates in September (Bloomberg News). Pirates involved in all types of black market activities and serves as heroes to Somali youth (The Observer). It is a fair [...]