Catching the Pirate King

In 2009, the Indian Ocean was the setting for a wave of daring hijackings. Somalian pirates sailing nothing more than skiffs were attacking dozens of ships and taking the crews hostage in exchange for large sums of money. This is the fate of the Belgian ship the Pompei. Back in Brussels, a dedicated team assemble to do everything they can to free the 10-man crew. Meanwhile, the Belgian police identify the culprits and begin to pursue them. After zooming in on the leader of the biggest pirate cartel, the police put together a risky undercover operation. In an inventive twist of metadrama, they ultimately lure him out of his hideout – and into a Belgian courtroom. In this three-part documentary series, the key players from the ship’s crew, Belgian law enforcement and the Somali pirates themselves, look back on this remarkable story.