Lyon — Following a call by INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble for greater law enforcement involvement in the fight against maritime piracy, vital police information to identify suspected pirates has now been shared with the global policing community by the Seychelles and Kenya.

In his address to the G-8 Justice and Interior Ministers’ meeting in Rome in May, Secretary General Noble said that law enforcement could provide the ‘missing link’ to fill the gap which currently exists between the arrests made through military interventions and any eventual prosecutions.

INTERPOL’s Seychelles National Central Bureau (NCB) in Victoria has now provided the General Secretariat headquarters with details, including fingerprints and photographs, of 23 detained Somali nationals who are suspected of maritime piracy.

Entered into INTERPOL’s global databases, this information can be accessed by any of its 187 member countries and will provide a reference point for any potential matches of suspects arrested in the future.

In addition, INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Police Services, Jean-Michel Louboutin is this week holding a series of high-level meetings with senior law enforcement and government officials in Kenya. As a result, Kenya has agreed to send the photographs and fingerprints of more than 100 individuals who have been arrested and convicted in connection with maritime piracy.

Discussions also focused on the proposed creation of an international platform to bring together police officers from INTERPOL’s NCB and its Regional Bureau in Kenya as well as national investigators and prosecutors. Equipped with direct access to INTERPOL’s secure global police communications network I-24/7 and its global databases, the platform would facilitate international police investigations and subsequent prosecutions.

“Sound investigative police work is key to effectively combating maritime piracy. Without systematically collecting photographs, fingerprints and DNA profiles of arrested pirates and comparing them internationally, it is simply not possible to establish their true identity or to make connections which would otherwise be missed,” said Mr Louboutin.

“INTERPOL's global databases are uniquely suited to support Kenya, and other countries facing the threat of maritime piracy, in their efforts to investigate and prosecute offenders and it is the only way to ensure that vital information is shared globally.”

Mr Louboutin praised the decision by the Seychelles and Kenyan authorities to share the names and fingerprints of recently arrested pirates.

“This is an important first step by INTERPOL member countries in developing an effective law enforcement response to maritime piracy and is an example of good practice that we recommend all other countries to adopt,” concluded Mr Louboutin.

As the world’s largest police organization INTERPOL maintains global databases including those on suspected terrorists, international fugitives, Stolen and Lost Travel Documents, fingerprints and DNA profiles.