Interpol has issued 100 red notices in 2023 at India’s request, highest in a year: CBI chief

New Delhi: Interpol has issued 100 Red Notices in 2023 at the request of India, the highest in a year, asking police agencies across the world to apprehend fugitives wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies who have crossed borders into their jurisdiction, CBI Director Praveen Sood said on Thursday. Speaking at the 10th Interpol Liaison Officers (ILO) Conference, organised by the CBI, Sood said as many as 29 wanted criminals have been brought back to India in 2023 and 19 so far in 2024 with the help of Interpol and international law enforcement partners.

He said CBI’s Global Operation Centre handled 17,368 international requests for assistance in 2023. Home Minister Govind Mohan also praised the CBI’s Global Operation Centre, highlighting that the centre processes 200-300 requests for assistance daily, both incoming and outgoing.

Sood said in his address that Interpol has issued as many as 100 Red Notices against criminals and fugitives wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies, the highest number ever in a year. An Interpol Red Notice is not an arrest warrant, but a request to law enforcement authorities worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal proceedings.The CBI Director said the world today faces a multitude of serious and global poly-crimes and threats, such as terrorism, online radicalisation, cybercrime, online child sexual exploitation, corruption, drug trafficking and terrorist financing.

“Indian police are leading the way in addressing these challenges through a combination of a robust legal framework, innovative initiatives, leveraging technology and proactive international cooperation,” he said. Sood said there is a need for international cooperation as technology-driven crimes are becoming more prevalent.

“Criminals are no longer limited by borders, and neither are our efforts to combat them,” he said.“Law enforcement professionals must be well versed in the various ways of coordinating international legal assistance in criminal matters,” he said.

During the conference, participants were briefed by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the complexities of extradition, provisional arrest and local prosecution. “The sessions focused on operationally utilizing INTERPOL channels, GloBE Network and investigating complex transnational crimes,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

He said that an expert roundtable discussion on the theme ‘Strengthening International Law Enforcement Partnerships’ was held with the participation of speakers from BKA (Germany), FBI (USA), CBI, National Police Agency (Japan), National Crime Agency (UK), PDI (Chile) and Nepal Police.

“The speakers stressed that the globalization of crime poses a major challenge. Effectively countering these threats requires close cooperation and partnership with law enforcement agencies in different countries, and the need for robust and real-time international police cooperation has never been greater,” the statement said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), like the National Central Bureau of Investigation (NCB New Delhi) for Interpol in India, connects all law enforcement agencies in India, both at the central level and at the state/union territory level, through designated Interpol liaison officers, the agency said.

“The CBI has been organising the ILO conference since 2003 with the aim of significantly improving the use of formal and informal means of international police cooperation to combat crime, criminals and the proceeds of crime,” the statement said.