Notorious Six-Toe Joe pirate arrested
Six-Toe Joe arrested. Pic from www.thesun.co.uk
Royal Navy sailors have captured a notorious pirate who has SIX toes on each foot.
The notorious Somali gangster — dubbed Six Toe Joe in defence circles — also has ten fingers plus two thumbs due to a rare condition.
He was seized with 13 others last month with a stash of weapons including rocket launchers and hand grenades and now faces years in jail for piracy in the Indian Ocean. He was handed to authorities in the Seychelles last week.
A jubilant source said last night: "We have finally captured the pirate with 12 toes and 12 fingers! This is a massive scalp for the Royal Navy.
"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."
His bizarre condition is called polydactyly, which affects sufferers from birth.
It is easily remedied in most advanced countries by simple operations to remove the extra digit.
But healthcare in war-torn Somalia is extremely basic and it appears Six Toe Joe grew up unaffected by his deformity.
The Navy ship RFA Fort Victoria — on a four-month mission with Nato's counter-piracy task force codenamed Operation Ocean Shield — picked up the pirates from a hijacked Yemeni fishing boat.
Captain Gerry Northwood, who led the operation, said: "This has been a long four months of intensive operations.
"We have captured more than 30 pirates for prosecution and rescued 44 merchant mariners from pirates."
Danish ship HDMS Absalon, another Nato ship, was also in the Seychelles handing over four more suspected pirates to authorities.
Foreign Secretary William Hague praised the Seychelles for taking on the gangsters.
He 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."
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