Salmakk operated out of the frozen world of Hoth around prior to 2 ABY. When Han Solo appeared on Hoth to rescue his friend Luke Skywalker, who had crashed on the ice planet, Salmakk could not resist trying to collect the bounty that Jabba the Hutt had placed on the smuggler's head. Solo avoided capture and trapped the Mon Calamari in a cave-in at his base in a hollowed-out mountain. After spending almost two standard days digging themselves out, Salmakk and his crew packed up operations and left the Hoth system.
The remains of his base were taken over by the Rebels, and after Major Kem Monnon and the Alliance Corps of Engineers expanded the facilities considerably, Salmakk's former home became Echo Base.
In 5 ABY, Salmakk and his pirates were hired by Trioculus to raid storehouses on Cloud City.