The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has disclosed that four individuals have been arrested in connection with the recent kidnapping of three Chinese nationals aboard a Ghanaian vessel at the Tema Port.

In April, the three Chinese crew members were kidnapped following a suspected pirate attack on the Ghanaian-registered fishing vessel Mengxin 1 within Ghanaian territorial waters.

The missing crew members—the captain, chief mate, and chief engineer—were found to be unaccounted for after the assailants had departed the vessel.

According to reports, seven armed men boarded the ship at approximately 5:53 p.m., firing warning shots and forcing several crew members to take refuge in a secure compartment.

The attackers are said to have remained on board for nearly three hours, during which they rounded up the crew on deck and seized their mobile phones before making their exit.

Addressing the media on May 6, CID Director-General, DCOP Lydia Ayaako Donkor, revealed that the Chinese nationals had been abducted by the suspected pirates and transported to a remote location in Nigeria, where they were eventually abandoned.

She added that the Ghana Police Service had since taken up the matter, working closely with relevant agencies, leading to the arrest of four suspects believed to be directly linked to the abduction.

Investigations, she said, are still ongoing, with security agencies in both Ghana and Nigeria coordinating efforts to apprehend any additional suspects and to unravel the broader network behind the kidnapping.