CBI organises 10th INTERPOL Liaison Officers conference in Delhi

New Delhi [India], September 5 : The 10th INTERPOL Liaison Officers (ILO's) Conference, organised by CBI, was inaugurated by the Home Secretary at the CBI Headquarters in Delhi.
The conference was organised on the theme 'Strengthening International Law Enforcement Partnerships', by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on the eve of the upcoming UN International Day of Police Cooperation.
The event involved the participation of senior officers from all Central, State and Union Territory law enforcement agencies and International Police Liaison Officers from several countries.
The inaugural session was joined virtually by law enforcement personnel across India and across member countries of the INTERPOL, EUROPOL and GloBE networks.
In his inaugural address, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan emphasised the importance of international police cooperation in tackling the rapidly evolving landscape of technology-enabled crimes that transcend borders. Stating that the spectre of transnational crime and organised crimes require real-time international police cooperation, he asserted.
"The international dispersal of crime and criminals has enhanced the need for investigation abroad. Prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crime is increasingly reliant on digital evidence and foreign located evidence," he added.
He further added, "New age crimes, including cyber-enabled financial crimes, online radicalization and transnational organised crime networks, are not confined by borders. In an increasingly interconnected world, the importance of international police cooperation cannot be overstated".
Mohan emphasised the need for close coordination and real-time cooperation among law enforcement agencies globally to the imminent threats posed by terrorism, transnational organised crime networks, online radicalisation, illicit flow of drugs, arms peddling, cybercrime, online child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, wildlife and environmental crimes, economic offences, laundering of proceeds of crime, terror financing, etc. need close co-ordination and real-time cooperation among law enforcement agencies globally.
He stressed that the safe havens for crime, proceeds of crime and terrorism anywhere in 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 receive safe havens by exploiting differences in international jurisdictions and bring to justice.
The Union Home Secretary further dwelled upon the importance of combating crimes, including terrorism and quoted from the address of the Union Home Minister during the Closing Session of the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly, who had emphatically stated, "I firmly believe that terrorism is the biggest violation of human rights."
On the changing nature of crime, he said, "During this period characterised 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 geographic borders, so, we have to think and act upon it".
Stating that India has been one of the early members of INTERPOL, Union Home Secretary said that with the approval of MHA, a working arrangement with EUROPOL was signed by CBI in March 2024 to strengthen law enforcement cooperation between India and EU, CBI Academy joined INTERPOL Global Academy Network in August 2023 for enhancing police capacity building and India joined the International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database of INTERPOL, providing a critical tool for fighting against child sexual abuse and exploitation.
He also underlined the significance of the Global Operation Centre, set up by CBI in 2022 and stated that this centre is handling 200-300 requests for assistance, including both incoming and outgoing, on a daily basis.
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 a key co-ordinating role in executing Letter of Requests and Mutual Legal Assistance Requests.
The MHA, as the central authority of India in this regard, transmits and receives all requests for assistance either directly or through diplomatic channels, he added and said that the MHA has issued comprehensive guidelines providing detailed outlines for examination of witnesses and templates for drafting meaningful requests.
He also referred to the online portal launched in December 2022 which was developed by MHA in consultation with ILOs and CBI and emphasized that the portal has been a game-changer in onboarding all stakeholders on a single platform which has user friendly interface.
Addressing the participants, Praveen Sood, Director, CBI, stated that "the world today faces a multitude of grave and globalised poly-crimes and threats like terrorism, online radicalisation, cyber-enabled financial crimes, online child sexual exploitation, corruption, drug trafficking, terror financing and organised crime. Police in India have been at the forefront of 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 acquainted with various means of coordinating international assistance in criminal matters."
He informed that the Global Operation Centre of CBI handled 17,368 international assistance requests in 2023 and as many as 100 red notices were issued by INTERPOL on criminals and fugitives wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies, the highest ever in a year.
He also informed that with INTERPOL and with international law enforcement partners, as many as 29 wanted criminals were brought back to India in 2023 and 19 so far in 2024.
Emphasising the need for international cooperation in the light of technology-enabled offences becoming more prevalent, he stated, "Criminals are no longer constrained by borders, and neither should our efforts to combat them."
The participants were briefed on intricacies related to extradition, provisional Arrest and Local prosecution by MEA officials. Sessions were dedicated on operationally leveraging INTERPOL channels, the GloBE Network and the investigation of 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 level, through designated INTERPOL Liaison Officers. CBI has been organising the ILO's Conference since 2003 with a view to significantly enhance the utilisation of formal and informal means of international police cooperation to combat crime, criminals and proceeds of crime.