BRUSSELS (AP) — An alleged pirate kingpin has beenarrested in a Hollywood-style sting that lured
him from Somalia toBelgium to work on a fake documentary about high-seas crime.Yetinstead of signing a film
contract as an expert adviser, Mohamed AbdiHassan was arrested at Brussels airport as soon as he landed
Saturdayand immediately jailed, Belgian authorities said Monday.Federalprosecutor Johan Delmulle said Abdi
Hassan was charged with hijackingthe Belgian dredger ship Pompei and kidnapping its crew of nine in 2009and
participating in a criminal organization. An alleged accompliceknown as Tiiceey was also arrested.A U.N.
report last year calledAbdi Hassan "one of the most notorious and influential leaders" of amajor
Somali pirate organization that roamed the seas hijacking shipsfor ransom."(He’s) one of the most
important and infamous kingpinpirate leaders, responsible for the hijacking of dozens of commercialvessels
from 2008 to 2013," Delmulle said.In 2009, Somali piratesreleased the Pompei’s crew after 10 weeks
because the ship’s owner paida large ransom. Belgium caught two pirates involved in the hijacking,convicted
them and sentenced them to nine and 10 years in prison.But Belgian prosecutors were still seeking the
ringleaders."Too often, these people remain beyond reach while they let others do the dirty work,"
Delmulle told reporters.Malaysianauthorities almost captured the reclusive Adbi Hassan in April 2012 buta
document from the Somali transitional government let him slip backhome, the UN report said.Belgian
authorities then went undercoverto nab him, because they knew he traveled very little and that
aninternational arrest warrant would produce no results in unstableSomalia.They approached Tiiceey, dangling
a fake job as anadviser to a fake movie about piracy that would "mirror his life as apirate,"
Delmulle said.They took the bait.The prosecutor refused to divulge any more details on the sting. The two
Somalis will appear in court Tuesday in Brugge.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This
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