Gino Jean, Achille Agathine and Pierre Pothin from the Police Force have successfully undertaken a local training in the field of drugs and explosives detection and general purpose work.
They did so through a refresher course organised by the Seychelles Police Force in partnership with the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA).
The dog handlers received their certificate yesterday in a ceremony which took place at the Seychelles Police Academy, Pointe Larue.
Present at the ceremony were the Minister for Home Affairs Mitcy Larue, the Commissioner of Police Reginald Elizabeth, the chief executive (CEO) of SCAA Gilbert Faure, among other high police officers.
Commissioner Elizabeth stated that Seychelles has recognised the vital role that police dogs contribute to law enforcement.
“The Seychelles Police Force has recognised the vital role that police dogs contribute to law enforcement which includes narcotic detection, explosives detection and general purpose crime prevention. Police dogs are utilised globally in the fight against crime and for this reason, the Seychelles Police Force intends to upgrade and expand its police dog capacity,” he said.
He added that Seychelles’ training will provide much better security at the Seychelles International Airport.
“In our dedication to upgrade the security at the International Airport, we have embarked on a joint project with the SCAA where the common objective is to have detection dogs with the ability to perform various searches,” he said.
The dogs will now be able to search cargo and baggage at the airport, search for any abandoned or suspicious parcels or vehicles, search for explosives during international conferences held in Seychelles, as well as explosives in buildings, among others.
With the completion of this course the Police Force is now equipped with three detection dogs, the number of which is expected to be increased to twelve.
CEO Faure stated that with this kind of training the airport will be better secured.
“At SCAA we want to prevent any kind of accident from happening, security of our staff and passengers being our priority. Together with the police, we will work hard to safeguard our International Airport,” he said.
During the ceremony Mr Faure donated four dog trailers to the Police Force, to better equip them for their routine missions.
Guests at the ceremony were also treated to a demonstration of what the handlers have learned during the training.
