Moscow  - The 15-member crew - alone with their eight accused hijackers - of the "Arctic Sea" freighter arrived in Moscow Thursday, four days after they were freed by Russian forces, reported the Interfax news agency, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

The 23 men were transported from Cape Verde to Moscow on two Ilyushin Il-76 military planes. They were accompanied by investigators who have been trying to puzzle out the freighter's whereabouts between its initial contact with pirates July 24 and its Monday rescue.

Pirates, apparently posing as drug enforcement officers, boarded the freighter in Swedish waters of the Baltic Sea on July 24. However, the crew reported that they left.

The "Arctic Sea" next had contact with the British Coast Guard on July 28 before largely dropping off the radar for more than two weeks.

The pirates - whom Russian officials say hail from Russia, Latvia and Estonia - apparently gained access to the freighter when they appeared alongside in a rubber dinghy and appealed for help, which the crew granted.

The Russian Defence Ministry said Wednesday that the rubber dinghy used by the pirates to board the vessel had been confiscated, along with a quantity of arms and ammunition.

The Finnish-operated ship was officially listed to be carrying timber for Algeria. But European and Russian military experts believe that an illegal supply of arms might have been hidden in the cargo.

A Russian seamen's union has appealed to the government in an open letter to allow the crew - all Russian citizens whom have been held incommunicado since Monday - to contact their family members. (dpa)