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Somali pirates are currently holding at least 15 vessels with some 250 crew members. Photo by BGNES
Somali pirates have hijacked a British-owned cargo ship with sixteen Bulgarian sailors aboard, Bulgarian officials announced.
The 32,000-tonne Malaspina Castle, which flies a Panamanian flag, was taken on Monday morning in the Gulf of Aden, according to reports of the Times.
She was the fifth ship snatched in two days off the Somali coast despite naval patrols along main shipping lanes.
The vessel has a crew of 24, from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Philippines. All are believed to be in good health condition.
Somalia's pirates had been having a quiet year after their bumper haul in 2008, when they took almost 50 vessels.
Pirates are currently holding at least 15 vessels with some 250 crew members.
India has announced plans to arrest and charge the 35 Somali pirates apprehended by its navy during the hijacking of the Malta-flagged vessel "Ruen" off the coast of Somalia
There is a Bulgarian national aboard a the attacked by pirates ship off the coast of Cotonou in Benin.
Pirates have abducted 19 crew members of an oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria, a Greek company, the vessel operator, said.
Two sailors were injured in an attack by a group of 7-8 gunmen on an Italian ship in the Gulf of Mexico, RIA Novosti reports.
Pirates kidnapped six people from the crew of a cargo ship of a German company near the coast of Nigeria, reports Der Spiegel.
A total of ten pirates, nine Kenyans and one Bulgarian, have been reportedly busted by Comorian authorities near Grande Comore, the largest island in the Comoros archipelago.
Bulgarian authorities seized 215 liters of alcohol from a commercial premises in the village of Malo Konare, Pazardzhik region, the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Pazardzhik reported.
A family of pensioners from the village of Lozno in Kyustendil became victims of a robbery after converting 50,000 leva (approximately €25,500) into euros at a local bank.
A counterfeit 500 Euro (BGN 980) banknote was discovered in Pernik after being used to claim winnings at a local casino.
A case involving counterfeit euro banknotes has been uncovered at a gas station in the town of Valchedrum, Montana region, where a young employee managed to replace genuine currency with fake bills during his shifts. The forged banknotes entered the stati
Bulgaria has registered its first case of counterfeit euro banknotes, highlighting the challenges posed by the new currency, which remains unfamiliar to many. Some of the fake notes are of relatively high quality, making them difficult to identify, warns
Forensic experts in the Bulgarian city of Shumen have identified and arrested a 35-year-old man who attempted to pay for a soft drink with a counterfeit 50-euro banknote
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