Ambassador Perry's Speeches

Boarding Officers Course (2 Mar 08)

Ladies and gentlemen, Good Morning

Thank you all for coming today.  It is heartening to see so many representatives from the Maritime Wing and Ministry of Defense here. Around the world, illegal drugs, weapons, and other smuggled goods destroy lives on a daily basis.  Smuggling is a lucrative business, and the perpetrators have many reasons to try to stay ahead of law enforcement.  We’re here today to make sure they are not able to do that.

Over the past year, we have been impressed with the Maritime Wing’s ability to take Coast Guard training and use it to rapidly respond to crimes like piracy.  I remember in particular a call for assistance by a Chinese frigate that was being robbed by a Guinean patrol boat. Your quick response and collection of evidence created were the basis for a strong case against the pirates in the courts. We were also impressed with your quick response to a fire on the Freetown ferry, which could have cost countless lives.  It really demonstrated your ability to respond to emergency distress calls. Again, this was a superb use of newly acquired skills and a great service to Sierra Leone.

In addition to piracy, West Africa faces tremendous challenges in combating the illegal narcotics trade.  In recent years, the West Coast of Africa has become a major transit point between drug producers in Latin America and elsewhere and consumers in Europe and the United States. While Sierra Leone has managed to avoid becoming the prime target on the coast, there have been a number of individuals arrested smuggling cocaine through Lungi airport over the past year.  While the goal of the smugglers may not have been to bring the drugs to the streets of Freetown, it would certainly have been a byproduct, and has the potential to be devastating to a city like this, which has a medical infrastructure that has its hands full already.

Today, you will be learning how to detect drugs and hidden compartments on ships.  Please take this information to heart.  I am confident we will see your training put to good use in the near future. Only through teamwork and partnership will we wipe out drugs in West Africa and prevent Sierra Leone from becoming a prime transit point.

Thank you again for coming to this seminar and I encourage you to open your mind to the ideas being presented so you may reap the full benefit.