CBI to host 10th INTERPOL Liaison Officers Conference in Delhi

New Delhi (India), September 5 (ANI): The 10th INTERPOL Liaison Officers (ILO) Conference, organised by the CBI, was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs at the CBI headquarters in Delhi.

The conference was organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the theme ‘Strengthening International Law Enforcement Partnerships’, on the eve of the upcoming UN International Day of Police Cooperation.

The event was attended by senior officials from all law enforcement agencies of the Central, State and Union Territories as well as international police liaison officers from various countries.

The opening session was attended virtually by law enforcement personnel from across India and from member countries of the INTERPOL, EUROPOL and GloBE networks.

In his inaugural address, Home Minister Govind Mohan stressed the importance of international police cooperation in tackling the rapidly changing landscape of technology-driven crimes that transcend borders. He said that the specter of transnational crime and organised crime requires real-time international police cooperation.

“The international spread of crime and criminals has increased the need for investigations abroad. Prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crime is increasingly dependent on digital evidence and evidence found abroad,” he added.

He added: “New age crimes, including cyber-enabled financial crimes, online radicalisation and transnational organised crime networks, are not limited by borders. In an increasingly interconnected world, the importance of international police cooperation cannot be overstated.”

Mohan stressed the need for close coordination and real-time cooperation among law enforcement agencies globally to address the menace of terrorism, transnational organized crime networks, online radicalization, illicit drug trafficking, arms trafficking, cybercrime, online sexual exploitation of children, human trafficking, wildlife and environmental crimes, economic crimes, laundering of proceeds of crime, terrorist financing, etc. There is a need for close coordination and real-time cooperation among law enforcement agencies globally.

He stressed that safe havens for crime, proceeds of crime and terrorism around the world pose a serious threat to every country. An increasingly interconnected world needs internationally connected policing. Criminals and fugitives from the law should not be given safe havens by exploiting differences in international jurisdictions and bringing them to justice.

The Union Minister of Home Affairs further elaborated on the importance of combating crimes, including terrorism, quoting from the speech of the Union Minister of Home Affairs at the closing session of the 90th General Assembly of INTERPOL, who had emphatically stated: “I firmly believe that terrorism is the greatest violation of human rights.” On the changing nature of crime, he said: “During this period, which is marked by a revolution in data and information, the nature of crime and criminals has changed. Today, crime has become borderless and if we want to stop this kind of crime and these criminals, we all have to think beyond conventional geographical boundaries, so we have to think about it and act accordingly.”

India was one of the first members of INTERPOL and the Home Minister said that with the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs, a working arrangement was signed by the CBI with EUROPOL in March 2024 to strengthen law enforcement cooperation between India and the EU. The CBI Academy joined the INTERPOL Global Academy Network in August 2023 to enhance police capacity building and India joined INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database, providing a crucial tool in the fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation.

He also stressed the importance of the Global Operation Centre, set up by the CBI in 2022. He indicated that this centre processes 200-300 requests for assistance daily, both incoming and outgoing.

Referring to various sessions organised during the conference, including on international mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and the MHA portal, he added that ILOs play an important coordinating role in the implementation of letters of request and requests for mutual legal assistance.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, as India’s central authority in this regard, sends and receives all requests for assistance, either directly or through diplomatic channels. He added that the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued comprehensive guidelines with detailed outlines for examining witnesses and templates for drafting meaningful requests.

He also referred to the online portal launched in December 2022, developed by MHA in consultation with ILOs and CBI. He stressed that the portal has been a game changer in onboarding all stakeholders on one platform with a user-friendly interface.

Addressing the participants, Praveen Sood, Director, CBI said that “the world today is confronted with a multitude of serious and globalised poly-crimes and threats such as terrorism, online radicalisation, cyber-enabled financial crime, online child sexual exploitation, corruption, drug trafficking, terrorist financing and organised crime. The Indian police have been at the forefront in addressing these challenges through a combination of robust legal frameworks, innovative initiatives, leveraging technology and proactive international cooperation.” He added that “Law enforcement professionals need to be well-versed in various ways to coordinate international assistance in criminal cases.” He informed that CBI’s Global Operation Centre handled 17,368 international requests for assistance in 2023 and INTERPOL issued as many as 100 Red Notices to criminals and fugitives wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies, the highest ever in a single year.

He also reported that in 2023, together with INTERPOL and international law enforcement partners, as many as 29 wanted criminals have been brought back to India, taking the number to 19 so far in 2024.

He stressed the need for international cooperation in light of the increasing prevalence of technology-driven crimes, stating: “Criminals are no longer limited by borders, and neither are our efforts to combat them.” Participants were briefed by MEA officials on the complexities of extradition, provisional arrest and local prosecution. Sessions were devoted to operationally leveraging INTERPOL channels, the GloBE network and investigating complex transnational crimes.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as the National Central Bureau (NCB New Delhi) for INTERPOL in India, connects all law enforcement agencies in India, both at the central and state/union territory levels, through designated INTERPOL Liaison Officers. CBI has been organising the ILO conference since 2003 with a view to significantly improving the use of formal and informal means of international police cooperation to combat crime, criminals and proceeds of crime. (ANI)