Last updated at 1:10 PM on 6th February 2012
A Somali pirate dubbed Six Toe Joe because he has an extra digit on each foot has been captured by Royal Navy sailors.
The notorious gangster, who also has an extra finger on each hand due to the rare condition polydactyly, was detained with 13 others last month.
A stash of weapons including rocket launchers and hand grenades were found in the Indian Ocean raid on a hijacked Yemeni fishing boat, and the group now face years in jail for piracy.
Captured: Royal Navy sailors have detained a Somali pirate dubbed Six Toe Joe because he has an extra digit on each foot
'He's the modern day Long John Silver. When you think of pirates you think of peg-legs, not excessive fingers and toes, but the rumours proved to be true.'
Had the pirate, who was handed to Seychelles police last week, lived in the West then he could have undergone a simple operation to remove his four extra digits.
But war-torn Somalia's healthcare system is believed not to cater for such medical issues.
Close-up: Somali pirate Six Toe Joe was given his nickname because he has six digits on each of his feet. He also has an extra finger on each hand
Captain Gerry Northwood, who led the operation, said they had captured more than 30 pirates and rescued 44 merchant mariners in that time.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague praised the operation and said: 'We are very grateful for their agreement to prosecute these suspected pirates.
'Their commitment to the fight has helped avoid a situation where these individuals were not held to account for their actions.'
Guarded: Foreign Secretary William Hague called for the fight against Somali-based terrorism to be stepped up on his arrival in the state's capital, Mogadishu, last week
As the first British foreign secretary to visit Somalia for 20 years, the visit was seen as a major diplomatic push to bring stability to a country he once described as 'the world's most failed state.'
Wearing a combat helmet and bullet-proof vest, he was escorted through capital Mogadishu to meet with Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
He then introduced Matt Baugh, Britain’s first ambassador to the country since it collapsed into chaos and civil war in 1991, to the President Ahmed.
Relentless: Radical Islamist group al Shabaab still controls much of the south of the country
Recent gains by the 10,000-strong African Union force in the country (Amisom) had driven back the radical Islamist group al Shabaab from the capital, he said.
But with much of the south of the country still controlled by the organisation, which has links to al Qaeda, Mr Hague added there must be 'no let-up in the pressure.'
Britain is hosting a major conference on Somalia in London later this month, attended by representatives of 50 nations in international organisations.
Militants: The organisation rule with an iron fist carrying out suicide bombings and IED and grenade attacks
In 2010, MI5 director-general Jonathan Evans warned that it was 'only a matter of time' before terrorists, trained in Somali camps, inspired acts of violence on the streets of the UK.
However, ministers believe the success of the Amisom offensive last August in driving al Shabaab from capitol Mogadishu has opened up a window of opportunity.
With suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices and grenade attacks still a regular occurrence, new ambassador Mr Baugh will work out of the British High Commission in neighbouring Kenya.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2097053/Somali-pirate-Six-Toe-Joe-captured-Royal-Navy-sailors.html#ixzz1lgL9tXtJ
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