Category: Interpol

LYON, France – An INTERPOL counter-terrorism operation to strengthen border security has enabled millions of crosschecks against international databases, resulting in 66 arrests, significant seizures and the identification of 81 individuals subject to INTERPOL notices and diffusions.
Operation Neptune VI brought together law enforcement agencies from 14 countries with the goal of bolstering security measures and responses around the maritime routes across the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in airports and at land borders in the participating countries.
The initiative, carried out in cooperation with WCO, FRONTEX and Europol, equipped teams with handheld devices and gave local authorities expanded access to INTERPOL databases.
The operation focused on identifying and analysing the movement patterns of Foreign Terrorist Fighters and people with links to terrorism as well as criminal groups responsible for cross-border crimes such as drug trafficking, weapons smuggling and human trafficking.
During Neptune VI, which ran for approximately two weeks in each country, officers on the ground also checked INTERPOL records of stolen vehicles and lost or stolen travel documents, which are both key assets for facilitating terrorist funding and mobility.
By the end of the operation on 16 September 2024, more than 16 million crosschecks had been made against the various INTERPOL databases, generating 187 ‘hits’.
A dozen arrests were made on the basis of INTERPOL Red Notices. Another 54 people were apprehended under national arrest warrants and for crimes detected at the border, including drugs and fraud offenses as well as the smuggling of gold, cash and weapons.

Red and Blue Notices to catch and track terror suspects

One suspect detained as part of the operation was the subject of a Red Notice for a terror attack carried out 23 years ago on a church in Pakistan. The fugitive is being held by local authorities as extradition procedures are carried out.
In another case, airport border police blocked entry to an individual who was the subject of an INTERPOL Blue Diffusion, issued in 2015.  The person had previously travelled to join ISIS through a European country.
In contrast to a Red Notice which can form the basis for provisional arrest, a Blue Notice or diffusion is a request between INTERPOL member countries to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities, in relation to a criminal investigation. During the Neptune VI operation, 29 subjects of Blue Notices and Diffusions were identified, allowing officers to track individuals with links to terrorism.

In Montenegro, border police detained a traveller suspected of using a counterfeit passport. Utilizing INTERPOL’s secure global police communications system (I-24/7), they verified the document with the issuing authorities, confirming it was a forgery. It was also discovered that the suspect was wanted for attempted murder. A Red Notice was promptly issued, requesting the suspect’s arrest and extradition.

Strengthened border controls lead to important seizures

The arrests made during Neptune VI were just one facet of the operation’s broad success in strengthening border control. The initiative yielded significant seizures, including EUR 549,000 in undeclared cash, gold worth EUR 10 million, 25 kilograms of cannabis, 35 stolen vehicles, and several illegal rifles and ammunition.
Additionally, Bulgarian border officials recovered two Glock pistols in the possession of an individual travelling with a fraudulent ID card. Notably, the pistol frames had been purchased as components in Central Europe, while the other parts had been falsely declared as exported to North America.

Greg Hinds, INTERPOL’s Counter-Terrorism Director said:
“By working together and equipping law enforcement agencies with the frontline tools they need, we can disrupt the activities of terrorists and criminals and bring them to justice. The operation’s results demonstrate the importance of sharing intelligence and best practices among countries to combat the evolving threats of terrorism and organized crime.”
Neptune VI is funded by Global Affairs Canada, WCO and Frontex.

Participating countries:

Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, and Tunisia.

LYON, France — INTERPOL has concluded a two-year global operation to bring to justice criminals operating networks of child sexual abuse websites designed to generate profits from advertising.

Running from December 2021 to July 2023, Operation Narsil also targeted the finance mechanisms used by the website administrators to conduct their online advertising campaigns.

Over two years, INTERPOL member countries worked together using INTERPOL’s Worst of List (IWOL), sharing targeted intelligence, pinpointing suspects and coordinating arrests of the people managing the websites.

Created in 2010, IWOL contains a watchlist of websites containing extreme child abuse material.  The General Secretariat headquarters works with law enforcement in all regions so that national Internet service providers close down these websites.

“Operation Narsil sends a strong message to the criminals making money from these websites that INTERPOL, and its alliance of police forces in 195 member countries, know where they are, what they are doing, and how to find them,” said Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General.

“Every time a person clicks on these images, they are effectively entering a crime scene. Identifying and removing these websites reduces the availability and potential normalization of online child abuse material, and, most importantly, reduces the re-victimization of the children abused,” added Secretary General Stock.

Worldwide crime trend

In one case, a brother and sister, both in their early thirties, were arrested as a result of IWOL digital clues and intelligence provided by the global police community pointing investigators to the suspects in Argentina.

Investigations by Argentina’s Victim Identification Office in the Anti Cyber Crimes against Minors Division and the Specialised Cybercrime Prosecution Unit (UFECI), working with Federal Courts in Mendoza Province, led to the identification and arrest of the two suspects.

Fourteen electronic devices were seized from their home as well as cash and credit cards. The siblings are thought to have created, maintained and financially benefitted for more than a decade from websites featuring child sexual abuse material and associated advertising campaigns.

“Given the technological complexities of this case and the degree to which the criminal activity went undetected, these arrests highlight the importance of police cooperation across regional, national, and international borders,” said the Head of Argentina’s Federal Police, Juan Carlos Hernandez, who also serves as delegate for the Americas on INTERPOL’s Executive Committee.

“With synchronized arrests across continents, this operation confronted global networks that profit from child abuse images and videos. INTERPOL is a strong global network of officers fully committed to putting an end to the online abuse of children, and we applaud the action and incredible results countries have achieved in Operation Narsil,” added Argentina’s Police Chief.

Local crime, global cooperation

Working with the Prosecutor’s Office, Bulgarian law enforcement identified and arrested a 34-year-old man who made his living operating an online forum that facilitated the sharing of child sexual abuse materials.

Bulgarian Police closed the online forum he had been running since 2020 and which is thought to have facilitated access to thousands of media files depicting serious child sexual abuse material.

Following the arrest, investigations are ongoing to identify forum users.

In one case during the Russian leg of Operation Narsil, police authorities arrested two 24-year-old citizens for the production and online circulation of materials depicting the sexual violation of minors. Authorities searched the suspects’ homes, seizing computer equipment containing specialized software for creating and administrating websites, and removable hard drives containing child sexual abuse material.

With the support of US Homeland Security Investigations, Thai police arrested a 45-year-old Thai national for the possession and online distribution of child sexual abuse material. His arrest came after police executed a search warrant at his residence, uncovering large amounts of child sexual abuse material and financial transaction records associated with online distribution of the abuse photos.

Narsil – meaning a longsword which tackles all evil – is one of the first INTERPOL operations to focus on identifying, locating and arresting the people receiving advertising revenues from website visitors interested in viewing the site’s child sexual abuse content.

INTERPOL has been monitoring websites disseminating child sexual abuse imagery for more than 13 years and, in collaboration with law enforcement partners across the world, has seized more than 20,000 domains.

Operation Narsil involved investigations triggered by law enforcement in Austria, Argentina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States.

LYON/NEW YORK – INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell have signed an agreement of cooperation that will support national governments around the world to prevent and address online child sexual exploitation and abuse and other child protection issues.

Under the new agreement, the two organizations will cooperate in supporting national law enforcement agencies globally to improve their response to sexual exploitation and abuse crimes against children, including by:

• Supporting the establishment of specialist units or teams to investigate online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and strengthening the effectiveness of such teams where they already exist.
• Advancing training and systematic professional development so that law enforcement personnel have up-to-date knowledge and skills in victim and offender identification, digital forensics for online child sexual exploitation and abuse, child-friendly and survivor-centered interviewing, and use of the INTERPOL International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.
• Promoting and facilitating better linkages between law enforcement and social services and other victim service providers to ensure that victims and survivors receive coordinated and multi-disciplinary support throughout the criminal justice process and beyond to support their holistic recovery.

“Every day, investigators around the world undertake painstaking and heroic work to identify victims and the perpetrators of online child sexual exploitation and abuse – but tackling this issue extends beyond law enforcement,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock. “This agreement is an acknowledgement that safeguarding children takes all of us. UNICEF plays a crucial role in child protection globally. Through closer cooperation, their knowledge and resources will help improve law enforcement activities on the ground.”

According to the latest available data from UNICEF, up to 20 per cent of internet-using children in 12 low- and middle-income countries said they have experienced online sexual exploitation or abuse in the previous year, while data from national hotlines and clearing houses suggest a proliferation of child sexual abuse content online in recent years.

While some countries have law enforcement units dedicated to child protection and victims, many lack the specialized staff, skills and resources needed to effectively investigate cases—especially those involving digital elements—conduct victim identification, and safeguard children. The new partnership aims to fill these critical capacity gaps and promote greater investment and coordinated action to ensure victims and survivors receive the support they require and perpetrators face justice.

“Child sexual abuse and exploitation is a global scourge. Collaboration across sectors and across borders is key to addressing this problem,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Working with INTERPOL will help us bring law enforcement expertise to our country programs and strengthen protection measures for every child.”

The INTERPOL-UNICEF agreement seeks to leverage the global reach and specific strengths of each organization to protect and improve the lives of children threatened by online exploitation and other forms of violence. INTERPOL’s global law enforcement networks span 195 member countries, while UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories, and through its child protection programmes, supports governments and partners to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against children, including in digital environments.

About INTERPOL

INTERPOL’s Crimes Against Children unit works to identify and rescue young victims of sexual abuse, block access to child sexual abuse material, and prevent sex offenders from travelling abroad to abuse children or escape justice. INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database helps investigators make connections between victims, abusers and places. To date, more than 34,000 victims in the ICSE database have been identified by law enforcement around the world. Many more unidentified victims are documented in the database as part of the ongoing global effort to locate them and their criminal abusers.

This agreement is the latest of many that INTERPOL has signed with UN entities in its longstanding cooperation with the United Nations.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org
Follow UNICEF on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

LYON, France – Colombia police have safeguarded three children and arrested their mother and aunt, accused of live streaming the children’s sexual abuse for profit.

Australian authorities first brought the case to INTERPOL’s attention in December 2022 after finding a video depicting child sexual abuse on the Darknet. The video material was uploaded to INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database, where specialized officers from around the world could consult and analyse it for clues.

One month later, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation alerted INTERPOL’s Crimes against Children (CAC) unit to the possible identity of one of the offenders, pinning their likely location as Colombia. The CAC unit confirmed their hypothesis, uncovering a number of clues and prepared a comprehensive victim identification report for Colombian authorities.

Upon reception and investigation, Colombia’s national police confirmed the location and identity of the children and the two offenders. They found that the mother and aunt had been using specific platforms to produce and sell made-to-order, live sexual abuse video material for ‘customers’ abroad.

On 22 February, Colombian authorities carried out a coordinated rescue-and-arrest operation, working with child protection services to safeguard the children and ensure they receive medical and psychological care.

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said, “This appalling case shows that live streaming child sexual exploitation is not confined to any region, it is global, and as in this case, usually involving very young children.

“We will continue to work with Colombian investigators to analyse seized devices, identify further victims and review data to find the individuals who were ordering and facilitating the horrific abuse from behind their screens,” concluded Secretary General Stock.

Today the ICSE database links 68 countries and connection of additional countries is ongoing. Since its launch, the database has assisted in the identification and documentation of more than 33,000 victims and 14,900 offenders worldwide.

LYON, France – The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is contributing AUD 815,000 for a significant enhancement to INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.

The ICSE database is a ground-breaking tool to advance child exploitation investigations through strengthened global information sharing.

The upgrade, known as ICSE Next Generation, is designed to speed up the process by which investigators identify victims in child exploitation material, through integration of the latest technologies for improved text, audio and video analysis, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence.

Launched 13 years ago, ICSE currently connects specialist investigators in 68 countries and has so far assisted in the identification of more than 31,000 victims, including 860 victims in Australia.

On average, around seven victims are identified every day.

Offenders identified

In addition, more than 14,000 offenders have been tracked and arrested by law enforcement, including 349 in Australia.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the AFP’s partnership with INTERPOL to support the upgrade of the database highlighted the commitment of law enforcement to protecting children around the world, while bringing offenders to justice.

“We know we can’t win this important battle alone. The advancement of this database is a game changer for how law enforcement around the world can work together to protect our society’s most vulnerable – our children,” he said.

Commissioner Kershaw said child protection investigations would be bolstered with law enforcement agencies avoiding duplication of effort by triaging online child exploitation material multiple times in multiple jurisdictions.

Target, track and disrupt

“This specialized tool means our investigators will be faster and more efficient than ever before, allowing us to quickly target, track and disrupt those seeking to harm and exploit children around the world – and most importantly, bring them to justice.

“The AFP is proud to partner with INTERPOL, along with our state, Commonwealth and international law enforcement counterparts, to combat this insidious crime,” concluded Commissioner Kershaw.

“The AFP’s decision to provide this funding underlines its strong and unwavering commitment to child protection, as well as its confidence in INTERPOL’s ICSE database which is a vital policing tool.” Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General

“We are seeing a consistent, and worrying, increase in the amount of online child sexual abuse and exploitation material, where every image is evidence of a crime.

“Only through global cooperation, supported by the latest technologies, can law enforcement effectively work to identify and rescue victims around the world,” concluded Secretary General Stock.

The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and AFP Child Protection Operations frequently contribute to the ICSE database, ensuring that investigators in other countries can benefit from the work undertaken in Australia to help identify victims.

In May 2022, the ACCCE VIU hosted the third National Victim Identification Taskforce, during which more than 3,500 files were de-conflicted against the ICSE database, with images from 55 newly-identified victims added for potential identification.

NEW DELHI, India – For more than 20 years, INTERPOL has served as a unique and powerful cooperation platform to combat online child sexual exploitation.

Currently containing more than 4.3 million videos and images, INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database enables investigators to make connections between victims, abusers, and locations from across all regions.

Through leads generated via ICSE, to date more than 30,000 victims have been identified around the world.

However, in addition to significant under-reporting of online child sexual exploitation and abuse cases, many countries do not have specialized units dedicated to this crime type, with others lacking necessary legislation to support investigations.

A Resolution endorsed by delegates at the 90th General Assembly highlights the urgent need for member countries to develop units and connect to and use the ICSE database to develop a stronger victim-centric process of identifying and safeguarding children.

“Each and every child should be protected from sexual exploitation and abuse, and from re-victimization after images have been shared online,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

“Data sharing between law enforcement and across regions is essential. If information is not shared globally, victims around the world remain unidentified and their abusers avoid justice. Neither can be acceptable.

“INTERPOL remains unwavering in its commitment to assist member countries in their efforts to address child exploitation and related crimes. These are crime areas where silos cannot be created, whether by one agency, or one region. There is too much at stake,” concluded Secretary General Stock.

Currently 68 member countries are connected to the ICSE database. Greater participation will result in more victim identifications by linking parallel enquiries and avoiding duplication of efforts in investigating material related to already solved cases.

LYON, France – Six European countries and INTERPOL have joined forces to solve 46 cold cases involving unidentified women whose remains were found across Europe years ago.

Most of the women were either murdered or had died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances. Some of the cases date from decades ago.

The initiative builds on the success of the Identify Me appeal launched in May 2023 to identify 22 deceased women, with some 1,800 tips received from the public. It has now been expanded to include additional cold cases from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as cases from new participating countries France, Italy, and Spain.

The appeal highlights the importance of public involvement and international cooperation in solving cold cases. It provides hope that crucial leads can be generated, so more of these women can be identified and that justice is served if murder has been established.

Identify Me has already seen noteworthy results after a case was solved after 31 years. Within two days of the launch of the first phase of Identify Me on 10 May 2023, relatives of Rita Roberts in the United Kingdom contacted the appeal hotline after they recognized their relative’s tattoo from news coverage.

Rita Roberts was 31 when she left Cardiff, Wales in February 1992. Her family last heard from her in May 1992, and her unidentified body was discovered in Antwerp on 3 June 1992. An investigation determined that she was a victim of murder. That case remains part of the international effort to request information, identify and seek justice for these deceased women.

Celebrity ambassadors

The appeal features the strong support – including in the video below – of the following leading actresses, singers, and sports figures from the participating countries, to help raise awareness of the cold cases and encourage public involvement:

Belgium: Veerle Baetens and Axelle Red

France: Marie-José Pérec and Sarah Biasini

Germany: Regina Halmich and Katrin Müller-Hohenstein

Italy: Carolina Kostner and Alice Bellandi

Netherlands: Carice van Houten and Stien den Hollander

Spain: Luisa Martin and Mabel Lozano

The cold cases

Details on each case have been made available on INTERPOL’s Identify Me web page, depicting facial reconstructions of some of the women.

There are also images of items such as jewellery and clothing which were discovered at the various land and water sites where the women’s remains were abandoned.

These cases underscore the difficulties in identifying human remains, often found years ago in remote or isolated locations, as well as the challenge of tracing some of these deceased women back to their home countries.

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said:

“Our goal in the Identify Me campaign is simple. We want to identify the deceased women, bring answers to families, and deliver justice to the victims. But we can’t do it alone. That is why we are appealing to the public to join us in this effort. Their help could make the difference.

“Even the smallest piece of information can be vital in helping solve these cold cases. Whether it is a memory, a tip, or a shared story, the smallest detail could help uncover the truth. The public could be the key to unlocking a name, a past, and in delivering long-overdue justice.”

Role of forensics in cold cases

The participating member countries and INTERPOL are working closely together in the appeal to leverage their analytical capabilities and advanced forensic methods, such as DNA profiling, facial reconstruction, and isotopic analysis. These techniques can provide significant clues about the victim’s origin, lifestyle, and cause of death. 

Since 2021, INTERPOL has been providing investigators with a new global tool, the I-Familia database, which contains some 20,000 profiles from almost 80 countries. It has already solved cases by helping identify unknown bodies through international family DNA kinship matching.

Such cases draw on the voluntary DNA contributions made by relatives of the missing, and underline the role played by the public and partners when it comes to identifying missing persons.

INTERPOL Black Notices

INTERPOL has published a Black Notice alert for each of the unknown women, to seek information on the unidentified bodies and determine the circumstances of their death.

While these alerts are intended for the police only, Identify Me represents the first time INTERPOL has publicly released extracts from Black Notices.

Black Notices can include information on the location where the body was found, biometric information (DNA, fingerprints, facial images), dental charts, physical descriptions of the body or clothing, and any other details relevant to identifying the deceased.

What you can do

Each of these deceased women has a story and relatives who deserve answers. We urge anyone with information to come forward and assist in this vital effort.

Members of the public, particularly those who remember a missing friend or family member, are invited to consult the INTERPOL website and contact the relevant national police team should they have any information. Details can be found on www.interpol.int/IM

For biological relatives who believe one of the women could be their missing loved one, national police can liaise with INTERPOL for international DNA comparison.

Contact forms are at the bottom of each case summary, providing a crucial link for families seeking answers and justice.

Eight individuals have been arrested as part of an ongoing international crackdown on cybercrime, dealing a major blow to criminal operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

The arrests were made as part of INTERPOL’s Operation Contender 2.0, an initiative aimed at combating cyber-enabled crimes, primarily in West Africa, through enhanced international intelligence sharing.

Phishing scam targets Swiss citizens

In Côte d’Ivoire authorities dismantled a large-scale phishing scam, thanks to a collaborative effort with Swiss police and INTERPOL.

The scam, which resulted in reported financial losses of over USD 1.4 million, involved perpetrators who posed as buyers on small advertising websites. The fraudsters used QR codes to direct victims to fraudulent websites that mimicked a legitimate payment platform where victims would unwittingly enter personal information such as their log in details or card number. They also impersonated the platform’s customer service agents over the phone to further deceive victims.

Swiss authorities received over 260 reports regarding the scam between August 2023 and April 2024, which prompted an investigation that traced the suspects back to Côte d’Ivoire.

With coordination and intelligence from INTERPOL, the Ivorian Cyber Unit led the investigation, locating and arresting the main suspect, who confessed to the offence and to making financial gains of over USD 1.9 million.

The arrest also led to the seizure of digital devices, which are currently undergoing forensic analysis. Five other individuals were found to be conducting cybercriminal activities at the same location, increasing the scope of the operation.

The investigation is still ongoing, with Ivorian investigators working to identify additional victims, recover stolen funds, and trace goods purchased with illicit proceeds.

 

An international campaign against romance cyber fraud

The Contender 2.0 operation is the latest wave of ongoing action coordinated by INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC). The initiative was launched in 2021 in response to intelligence from authorities and private partners on the activities of cybercriminal syndicates operating within the African region, particularly in West Africa.

The project targets a variety of cyber threats, including business email compromise schemes, a type of phishing attack in which criminals exploit trust to deceive senior executives into transferring funds or divulging sensitive information.

Another key AFJOC objective is romance scams and other financial grooming crimes which often involve cryptocurrencies or other digital assets. Romance scams refer to criminals creating fake online identities to develop romantic or close relationships with their victims, ultimately to manipulate or steal money from them.

In one recent example, authorities in Finland alerted the Nigerian Police Force via INTERPOL that a victim had been scammed out of a substantial amount of money. Leveraging its private sector partners, including Trend Micro and Group-IB, INTERPOL’s AFJOC was able to provide detailed information to the Nigerian authorities. This intelligence was instrumental in guiding investigative efforts, and local police arrested the suspect on 27 April 2024, along with an accomplice. The investigation revealed the offender’s involvement in similar scams and uncovered links to other potential victims.

Neal Jetton, Director of the Cybercrime Directorate said:

“Leveraging the increased reliance on technology in every aspect of our daily lives, cybercriminals are employing a range of techniques to steal data and execute fraudulent activities. These recent successful collaborations, under the umbrella of Operation Contender 2.0, demonstrate the importance of continued international cooperation in combating cybercrime and bringing perpetrators to justice.”

The AFJOC project is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.