SPDF Officer's Assistance on Drug Seizure Commended
CMF Partnership Nets Positive Results
Press Release: Seychelles Ministry of Home Affairs and Transport 
A communiqué released by the Office of the Public Affairs of the Combined Maritime Forces, based in Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain, on 31 March 2013 reported that the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) had successfully disrupted a massive heroin shipment off Zanzibar Island, Tanzania.
The communiqué said that, “a Canadian warship HMCS Toronto made the seizure after boarding a suspect dhow on the high seas,” further adding that, “HMCS Toronto is currently under the command of the Australian-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF150) – one of the CMF’s three maritime task forces – who coordinated the operation. CTF 150’s Commander, Commodore Charles McHardie of the Royal Australian Navy, said that this seizure is proof that coordinated efforts can have a significant impact on narcotics smuggling, thereby denying a source of funding to terrorist organizations.”
The report from the CMF on the seizure is even more significant for the region and the Seychelles in particular due to the participation of a Seychelles Coast Guard officer who is deployed on the CMF assigned vessel at the time of the interception.
It should be recalled that on 5 October 2012, the Republic of Seychelles became the newest member of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), this following meetings that were attended to by officers of the Seychelles Peoples Defence Forces and their counterparts within the CMF.
Following presentations made to the High Level Committee on Piracy, chaired by Minister Joel Morgan, the Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, and with a letter of invitation written by Vice Admiral Fox of the United States Navy and Commander of the CMF, to Brigadier Leopold Payet, Chief of Defence Forces in the Seychelles Peoples Defence Forces (SPDF), the Government approved the invitation and with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the acceptance, moved to join the maritime force command.
The invitation by the CMF for Seychelles to join, the first nation from within the small island states in the Indian Ocean, is encouraging and demonstrated clearly the leadership role that the Seychelles has been playing in the domain of anti-piracy efforts to date. It should be noted that improving our maritime security and fighting narcotics trafficking were amongst the priorities highlighted in President Michel’s State of the Nation Address in February this year, where he emphasized Seychelles’ determination to use its experiences in fighting piracy to also improve the security of our seas and clamp down on drug trafficking.
At the time of the invitation and acceptance by the Seychelles Government to participate, Brigadier Leopold Payet, the Chief of Defense Forces of the SPDF said, “an invitation by a leading maritime power such as the United States where Seychelles can and is contributing positively to the efforts regionally, despite our size, is re-assuring and confirms that we are on the right track.”
Following this recent and significant drug seizure Commodore McHardie of the CMF said, “We are fortunate that HMCS Toronto has also had the assistance of an embarked Seychelles Coast Guard officer and a special agent from NCIS at this crucial time in our operations.”
The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multi-national naval partnership, which exists to promote security, stability and prosperity across approximately 2.5 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
CMF’s main focus areas are defeating terrorism, preventing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, and promoting a safe maritime environment, and are headquartered with the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
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