page_title: River pirate
section_title: Southeast Asia along Mekong River
hierarchical_section_title: River pirate / Asia / Southeast Asia along Mekong River
caption_attribution_description: English: Danube River near Iron Gate. Deutsch: Die Donau am Eisernen Tor.
context_page_description: A river pirate is a pirate who operates along a river. The term has been used to describe many different kinds of pirate groups who carry out riverine attacks in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. They are usually prosecuted under national, not international law.
context_section_description: Currently, in a region known as the "Golden Triangle", river piracy, combined with illegal trafficking of heroin, poses a major international law enforcement problem.  One of the worst criminal cases involving Asian river pirates occurred on 5 October 2011, called the "Mekong River massacre".  A Chinese cargo ship hauling nine hundred thousand amphetamine pills, worth more than three million dollars, was attacked and hijacked, and thirteen crewmen were killed.  The hijackers were caught and executed by the Chinese government in 2012.
caption: The Iron Gates, on the Danube River, are the natural boundary between Serbia and Romania, where modern-day river piracy exists.
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