Indian Navy apprehends 35 pirates off Somalia coast, handed over to Mumbai Police

Guwahati, March 23: After a successful anti-piracy operation by the Indian Navy, as many as 35 Somali pirates were handed over to Mumbai Police on Saturday.

The pirates were captured during the rescue of 17 crew members from the vessel MV Ruen.

Notably, the Indian Navy intercepted the pirate ship Ruen on March 15. The operation resulted in the pirates surrendering and releasing the pirate ship MV Ruen and its original crew present onboard.

According to reports, the Indian Navy safely evacuated all 17 original crew members of MV Ruen on March 16 from the pirate vessel without any injury. Also, the 35 Somali pirates surrendered themselves the same day. The pirates were later handed over to the Mumbai Police.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian leaders, including President Rumen Radev, thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the operation.

"My sincere gratitude to (PM Modi) for the brave action of (the) Navy rescuing the hijacked Bulgarian ship 'Ruen' and its crew, including 7 Bulgarian citizens," Radev said in a post on X.