UNODC crime investigation support for Seychelles police

(Seychelles News Agency) - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime donated a mobile crime scene investigation kit for maritime piracy investigations to the Seychelles Police this morning.

The kit has a lighting system which allows officers to investigate crime scenes at night time as well a on ships when conducting transfers of pirates from foreign navies to local police custody.

“This equipment which we are donating will assist the Seychellois police in conducting prisoners’ transfer from foreign navies in a more efficient way. It is part of an ongoing package of support that we have been delivering to the Seychelles police for some years now and which we will continue to deliver,” said, Shamus Mangan, the UNODC maritime crime programme coordinator for Indian Ocean .

The UNODC will also soon deliver $160,000 dollars worth of radio communications equipment which will be used by Seychelles police officers on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, the three largest islands of the Seychelles archipelago.

Seychelles is the third largest contributor in the world to the Interpol Global Piracy Database, the other 2 being EU-NAVFOR and the US Navy. Since 2009, Seychelles has been prosecuting pirates caught in its EEZ, and has also provided evidence on piracy organisers for court cases in the US, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, having also extradited a pirate to Belgium for trial.

The UNODC has also given support to Seychelles to prosecute pirates as well as building an extension to the prison to enable incarceration of suspected pirates at Montagne Posee prison.

Out of 147 pirates brought to Seychelles for trial, 124 have been convicted, with 86 later repatriated to Somalia to serve their prison sentence.There are now 23 suspected pirates awaiting trial in Seychelles among a population of 61 Somalis. The remaining 38 have already been sentenced.