Osman Xasan Muhamad was the leader of a group of Somali pirates that were paid to raid the Barataria cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. Muhamad was hired by Max Newbold to capture the Barataria ship which was used to transport arms dealer Karl Rask's weapons. Newbold paid Muhamad to gain control of a nuclear weapon in the ship's cargo and deliver it to them, while they could keep the ship and the rest of the cargo. Muhamad had Bassar, one of his henchman, kidnap the family of Simon Dedrick, the ship's third mate, to allow his men access. Muhamad planned to use the earnings from the mission to find a new life away from Somalia.