The Roles and Functions of

INTERPOL in Crime
Investigation and
Maintenance of
Global Security
Presented by:
Amistas, Therese Mae A.
JD 1-B
I. TURNING INFORMATION ON CRIMES INTO
CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE

Identify the criminal suspects

Cross-check reports and provide investigative leads
Manages crime and intelligence analysis files
Combining information from databases and a variety of other sources to
provide insight into the criminal landscape

Examples:
• Slovak national declared wanted by the Czech Republic for murder
• Polish woman declared wanted for money laundering and drug peddling and who
might be living under a fake or false identity in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
II. SECURING GLOBAL POLICE COMMUNICATION
SERVICES AND INTERPOL’S DATABASES AID LAW
ENFORCEMENTS IN FIGHTING INTERNATIONAL
CRIME

• INTERPOL databases assist in tracking criminals and crime patterns

globally, by means of:

authorized collections of fingerprints and face photos

lists of wanted persons
DNA samples
travel documents

Example:
• United States Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI) special agents may track a
terrorist to Brazil
III. ISSUING OF NOTICES AGAINST GLOBAL CRIMINAL

• Duty of INTERPOL’s General Secretariat (IPSG) to issue notice in four

(4) official languages of the organization which includes:

 English
 French
 Arabic
 Spanish

(at the requests of member states)

IV. REDUCING ORGANIZED, NEW TYPES OF CRIME AND
TRACKING OF ALL SORTS OF DRUG AND HUMAN
TRAFFICKING

Issuing warning the general public that criminal syndicates are

employing food delivery services to transport drugs and other illicit
goods
Conducted seminars, symposia, and training sessions and attention is
focused on action-oriented programmes.
A team studying particular problems, analyzing strategies to crackdown
cartels, and investigating cases

Example:
• April, 2020, the Spanish National Police identified and arrested seven criminals that
dressed as food delivery drivers in Alicante and Valencia. The suspects were caught
delivering cocaine and marijuana by bicycle, motorcycle and car – some of the drugs
had been concealed inside a false bottom of home delivery backpacks.
V. VICTIM AND SUSPECT IDENTIFICATION DURING
COMPLEX EMERGENCIES

Execute a range of expertise and database

Access to assist with victim identification
Suspect identification
Dissemination of information to other states' law enforcement agencies
VI. BORDER SECURITY OPERATION

Operation Sunbird III:

The operation which in 2017 involved about 10 nations in Southeast
Asia, identified 110 stolen or lost travel documents and led to 17 arrests.

Operation Adwenpa:
The 2017 operation also involved eight (8) states in West Africa and
rescued over 40 victims who had been trafficked for all sorts of illicit
labour, many of whom were minors.

Operation Red Lotus:

This operation took place in 2018 in Asia where it identified over 184
potential threats and detected 49 globally wanted persons targeted by
INTERPOL Red Notices
VII. CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING FOR THE
NATIONAL CENTRAL BUREAUS (NCBS) AND POLICE

Firearms training
Problem-solving scenarios
knowledge and skills assessment
Simulations
Case studies

(The course is delivered each year to all geographical regions and is available in
our four official languages)
VIII. FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS
 Fingerprints
 DNA Profile
 Facial Recognition
IX. FUGITIVE INVESTIGATIVE SUPPORT

Fugitives:
• Criminals on the run, posing serious threats to public safety globally

 The fugitives use fake mobile and travel between nations with stolen
or fraudulent travel documents.
X. TRACKING AND OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORISM

Maharlika III
• Enabled law enforcement agencies from: Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia and the Philippines respectively in deploying to strategic
points, along the various terrorist transit routes in Southeast Asia
in recent time.
• Firearms that were illegally assembled with explosives made of
ammonium nitrate and other illicit goods and substances were
seized during the Operation Maharlika III in Malaysia in 2020.
• Led to identification and rescue of over 128 human trafficking
victims and over 96 victims of human trafficking were rescued by
Philippine authorities during Operation Maharlika III respectively.
X. TRACKING AND OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORISM

Maharlika III
• Enabled law enforcement agencies from: Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia and the Philippines respectively in deploying to strategic
points, along the various terrorist transit routes in Southeast Asia
in recent time.
• Firearms that were illegally assembled with explosives made of
ammonium nitrate and other illicit goods and substances were
seized during the Operation Maharlika III in Malaysia in 2020.
• Led to identification and rescue of over 128 human trafficking
victims and over 96 victims of human trafficking were rescued by
Philippine authorities during Operation Maharlika III respectively.
Article:
An INTERPOL-led operation codenamed ‘Maharlika III’ saw law enforcement from
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines (BIMP) deploy to strategic points along
known terrorist transit routes in Southeast Asia in a series of simultaneous law
enforcement and border control actions.

The coordinated move – from 24 February to 20 March in the midst of the global
COVID-19 outbreak – resulted in the arrest of more than 180 individuals for various
offences, including one suspected member of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

The operation saw 82 victims of human trafficking, mainly young women aged between
20 and 30, rescued by Philippine authorities. In addition, Indonesian authorities
identified and rescued a further 35 adults and 17 children (12 boys and five girls), aged
between 10 and 15 years, arriving from Malaysia.
Article:
Firearms, illegally assembled explosives made of ammonium nitrate and other illicit
goods and substances worth more than one million euros were also seized.
With participating units on the front lines provided with direct access to INTERPOL’s
global databases, authorities were able to run more than 13,000 checks on travel
documents, firearms and nominal data.

“The COVID-19 pandemic will not stop terrorist and organized crime groups from
pursuing their activities, which means law enforcement operations must, and do,
continue,” said Karel Pelán, Assistant Director of INTERPOL’s counter-terrorism unit.
“The results of Operation Maharlika III confirm the strategic importance of securing
travel routes used by terrorists and criminals in the BIMP region, even during a global
health crisis,” added Mr Pelán.
Article:
The World Customs Organization also partnered in the operation, coordinating the role
of customs agents and reporting seizures to INTERPOL National Central Bureaus in
each of the four participating countries.

DISRUPTING TERRORIST TRAVEL

Armed with intelligence on the most common routes used by terrorist and organized
crime groups travelling within the East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) – particularly the
BIMP borders – INTERPOL worked with national authorities to select seven strategic
locations.
Article:
INFLUX OF FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS

The flow of militants from Southeast Asia to the Middle East to join terrorist groups, has
now been reversed.
Since the collapse of ISIS/Daesh strongholds in the Middle East, the BIMP-EAGA
region has seen a marked influx of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), many travelling
from conflict zones. This is in part due to the presence of local ISIS/Daesh-inspired
terrorist groups in the region, such as the ASG.
FTFs are embedded in these local terror groups and supply them with propaganda,
personnel, finances and operational expertise, such as bomb-making.
In 2017, fighting in Marawi City (Philippines) between IS-affiliated militants and
Philippine government forces resulted in more than a thousand deaths. Among the dead
in Marawi were terrorist fighters from Chechnya, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and
Yemen.
Operation Maharlika III was conducted with funding from the Government of Japan, the
United Arab Emirates and the INTERPOL Foundation for a Safer World.
 X. TRACKING AND OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORISM

Maharlika III
• Enabled law enforcement agencies from: Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia and the Philippines respectively in deploying to strategic
points, along the various terrorist transit routes in Southeast Asia
in recent time.
• Firearms that were illegally assembled with explosives made of
ammonium nitrate and other illicit goods and substances were
seized during the Operation Maharlika III in Malaysia in 2020.
• Led to identification and rescue of over 128 human trafficking
victims and over 96 victims of human trafficking were rescued by
Philippine authorities during Operation Maharlika III respectively.

Source: Interpol Official Website

https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2020/Hundreds-arrested-in-crackdown-on-terrorist-routes-in-Southeast-Asia