Interpol is to boost the ability of law enforcers in Seychelles to combat piracy by providing essential high-tech equipment and training.

This is part of a €1.6 million project funded by the European Commission (EC) in which the international police organisation will help East African countries involved in bringing suspected pirates to justice.

A significant part of the funding will go to develop forensic and investigative capacity in Seychelles, which has found itself increasingly on the frontline as the hub for international counter-piracy operations and prosecutions.

A gap analysis done by Interpol at the request of Home Affairs Minister Joel Morgan identified three critical development needs – forensic facilities, criminal investigation and analytical capabilities.

The first phase of the 20-month project will provide an automatic fingerprint identification system to the Scientific Support and Criminal Records Bureau of the Seychelles Police.

This will greatly enhance the digitisation of the fingerprint identification process, and will especially allow swifter sharing of this information on an international level via Interpol to help identify suspected pirates.

Responding to the news, President James Michel said: “I greatly welcome this initiative by Interpol, in partnership with Seychelles and the EC, in helping to develop further professional counter-piracy capacity in the region.

“Seychelles is fully committed to working with Interpol, in keeping with the United Nations resolution 1950, to help create a sustainable response to the transnational threat of piracy.”

Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and vice-president of the commission, said: "Piracy off the Horn of Africa is seriously affecting the safety of maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean, as well as security and stability in the wider region.

“More than two years after its launch, EU-Navfor’s Atalanta operation has had an important impact. But the roots of the problem of piracy lie on the land, and the EU is working to develop a comprehensive approach.

“Immigration, smuggling and trafficking are major related concerns. I welcome this Interpol-EU project, which aims to ease the identification and traceability of pirates and their possible prosecution.”

Interpol secretary-general Ronald Noble said: “The focus of the Interpol project is to ensure that police professionals have the forensic tools and training they need to carry out investigations into maritime piracy and other crimes as effectively as possible.

“The essential role to be played by law enforcement, particularly that of Interpol and Europol, in combating maritime piracy has been recognised by the UN and the EU, and we are committed to helping police in our member countries tackle what is, at its core, a transnational crime problem.”

The project will set up a comprehensive training programme for investigators during the next 12 months, including core investigative skills and specialist options such as drugs and fraud.

Open to a range of bodies – including the Seychelles Police, Seychelles Coast Guard, Financial Investigation Unit, National Drugs Enforcement Agency, and Immigration and Customs – the project will create the sustainable forensic and investigative capability needed to successfully confront not just piracy but all domestic and transnational crime affecting Seychelles.

Last November, the UN Security Council unanimously endorsed a resolution that “urges states, in cooperation with Interpol and Europol, to further investigate international criminal networks involved in piracy off the coast of Somalia, including those responsible for illicit financing and facilitation.”

In December the EU adopted a decision that will see its ongoing military operation against maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia use Interpol’s global network and tools to fight the criminal networks behind piracy in the Gulf of Aden.