Attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea sees fifteen arrested

On 8 March 2004, 15 suspected mercenaries were arrested in Equatorial Guinea. Many of the suspects were South African, including the alleged leader of the advance party, Nick du Toit. The funders of the plot, however, were largely British, and included the former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher's son, Mark Thatcher. The day before, on 7 March, Zimbabwean authorities seized a US-registered cargo plane at Harare carrying 64 suspected mercenaries and military equipment. It was later revealed that the men were mercenaries from South Africa en route to stage a coup in Equatorial Guinea. 20 South Africans, 18 Namibians, 23 Angolans, 2 Congolese and 1 Zimbabwean carrying a South African passport were arrested when their aging Boeing 727 was impounded. On 27 July, all but 3 of 70 suspected mercenaries, accused of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea, pleaded guilty to lesser charges in Zimbabwe. In 2006, Adam Roberts authored an account of this incident entitled "The Wonga Coup".