Category: Interpol

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France – An INTERPOL-coordinated operation against people smuggling and human trafficking across the Americas has led to 257 arrests, the rescue of 163 potential victims and the detection of nearly 12,000 irregular migrants from 69 different countries.

During Operation Turquesa V, authorities in 33 countries carried out more than 850,000 checks at major transit points to disrupt the transnational organized crime groups profiting from smuggling routes to the USA and Canada.

Throughout the five-day operation (27 November – 1 December), INTERPOL set up an Operational Coordination Unit in Costa Rica. Officers from the Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants unit were also deployed to the land border in Tabatinga, Brazil, and to the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, where they used INTERPOL Mobile Devices to perform live checks against its global databases.

A snapshot of irregular migration trends

Since 2019, Operation Turquesa has provided a snapshot of migration trends in transit countries across South and Central America, allowing destinations further north to monitor changes in migration flows.

Preliminary results of this year’s edition show a marked increase in trans-continental flows, particularly from China, which was the third most detected country of origin among irregular migrants, behind Venezuela and Ecuador.

During interviews, smuggling victims provided valuable insights on recruitment methods, travel conditions and costs. Migrants reported paying between USD 2,700 and upwards of USD 20,000 depending on the journey.

Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General said:

“The number of nationalities detected during Operation Turquesa V demonstrates how this major migration corridor, once considered a route reserved to the Americas, has become the target of organized crime groups from around the world.

“They are making enormous profits by smuggling vulnerable migrants and exploiting men, women, and children along the way. As law enforcement, we must form a united, global front by sharing more information across borders to empower frontline officers.”

In Curaçao, a passport check flagged an inbound passenger from the Dominican Republic as a potential migrant smuggler. Though he claimed to be part of a softball team travelling for a tournament, his luggage contained no equipment or uniforms, nor did his ‘teammates’. They were deported to the Dominican Republic where the man was arrested on arrival.

Thanks to information provided by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), authorities in the Bahamas detected a group of 18 Ecuadorian irregular migrants, pointing to a potential new route through the Caribbean.

Human trafficking: sexual exploitation and cyber-enabled

The majority of victims identified during the operation had been trafficked for sexual exploitation. Dozens of underage victims were rescued, including 12 children in Honduras, the youngest of which was six years old.

After identification of three victims of sexual exploitation and nearly 200 irregular migrants, Chile’s Policia de Investigaciones arrested three suspected members of an organized crime group linked to the Tren de Aragua. At the request of Venezuela, INTERPOL published five Red Notices for additional members of the group.

In a rare case, Brazilian authorities were alerted by hospital staff to a man who had made two separate paternity claims for abandoned newborns in less than one month. They later found that the 49-year-old had recently traveled to Portugal with a newborn, but returned to Sao Paolo alone. Following extensive cooperation between both countries, the baby girl was safeguarded in Portugal and international child trafficking investigations are ongoing.

With organized crime groups becoming increasingly digital, most trafficking victims reported being recruited via messaging apps and social media platforms. In Brazil, the Federal Police froze USD 286,000 in criminal proceeds belonging to an organized crime group running cyber scam centres in Cambodia. More than 100 Brazilians had been promised cryptocurrency jobs through social media ads offering generous wages, productivity bonuses, food, and lodging. Once they arrived, however, they were held against their will and forced to carry out online investment scams.

International cooperation

This operation was financed by Global Affairs Canada, under the framework of Project Turquesa. The initiative leverages the strengths of INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to ensure a whole-of-justice approach to migrant smuggling and human trafficking.

The UNODC will therefore play a key role in following up with prosecutors to carry out the judicial process.

Additional support was provided by Europol and the International Office on Migration.

Participating countries: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, Turks & Caicos, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

MITO, IBARAKI, Japan – Secretary General of INTERPOL Jürgen Stock has welcomed the communique issued by the G7 Interior and Security Ministers meeting today (10 December).

After briefing the G7 meeting on cyber-enabled fraud and transnational organized crime, the Secretary General said:

“We warmly welcome the G7’s commitment to fight transnational organized crime, an international crisis that is undermining the rule of law, communities and business around the world.

“As I set out, we are seeing a considerable increase in the volume and complexity of cyber-enabled fraud around the world. It is being perpetrated by polycriminal transnational organized crime groups, and includes both fraud operations and money laundering.

“We will only match this transnational organized crime through a complete global network – and so it is vital countries work together to tackle these threats internationally through organizations like the G7, but most of all through INTERPOL’s global policing systems.”

The Secretary General also highlighted INTERPOL’s work on Black Axe, an organized crime group based in West Africa, but now based in 40 so-called zones worldwide using cyber-enabled criminal activities.

The G7 Interior and Security Ministers meeting was attended by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as INTERPOL and the EU. The meeting was hosted by Japan in the city of Mito, Ibaraki.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France – The first INTERPOL operation specifically targeting the phenomenon of human trafficking-fuelled fraud has revealed further evidence that the crime trend is expanding beyond Southeast Asia.

Following five months of investigative coordination, law enforcement from participating countries carried out more than 270,000 inspections and police checks at 450 human trafficking and migrant smuggling hotspots from 16-20 October.

Many of the hotspots are regularly used to traffic victims to notorious cyber scam centres in Southeast Asia. Victims are often lured through fake job ads and forced to commit online fraud on an industrial scale, while enduring abject physical abuse. Fraud schemes include fake cryptocurrency investments, as well as work-from-home, lottery and online gambling scams.

In total, the operation resulted in:

• The arrest of 281 individuals for offences such as human trafficking, passport forgery, corruption, telecommunications fraud, and sexual exploitation;
• The rescue of 149 human trafficking victims;
• More than 360 investigations opened, many of which remain ongoing.

Global spread

The cyber scam cases uncovered during the operation demonstrate this expanding geographical footprint.

During the pre-operational phase, INTERPOL supported national authorities for a case in which 40 Malaysian victims were lured to Peru with the promise of a high-paying job, only to be forced to commit telecommunications fraud.

In October, reports were received from Ugandan law enforcement of several citizens taken to Dubai – allegedly for employment – before being diverted to Thailand and then Myanmar. There, the victims were handed over to an online fraud syndicate and kept under armed guard while being taught to defraud banks.

In India, police from the state of Telangana registered one of their first cases of human trafficking for the purpose of cyber fraud. An accountant was lured to Southeast Asia where he was forced to participate in online fraud schemes in inhuman conditions. He was eventually able to leave following the payment of a ransom.

In Myanmar alone, over the past year authorities reported rescuing trafficking victims who originated from 22 countries, largely from Kayin and Shan States.

Focus on prevention

Beyond the cyber scam centres, the operation saw law enforcement uncover a range of other human trafficking and migrant smuggling offences:

• A 13-year-old boy from Bangladesh was rescued after being trafficked to India, following rapid cooperation between the INTERPOL NCBs in each country.
• Two female victims from Nepal, one aged 17, were also rescued and returned home from India. They had been trafficked to New Delhi and trapped in prostitution.
• Turkish law enforcement apprehended 239 migrant smugglers while patrolling the country’s coastline, intercepting nearly 4,000 irregular migrants.

Prevention was also a key focus of the operation, with member countries rolling out awareness campaigns to help potential victims avoid being trafficked.

Checks by police officers at border checkpoints, who looked for tell-tale signs of trafficking among travellers, succeeded in intercepting nearly 800 potential victims across all countries. Many were likely victims of fake recruiters.

In the United Arab Emirates, multiple campaigns were conducted at markets and massage parlours about the key dangers and indicators of human trafficking. Authorities in Nepal ran community outreach programmes throughout the country on the radio, at border crossing points and by distributing pamphlets in public places.

Operation Storm Makers II benefited from funding from the Regional Support Office of the Bali Process as well as financial support from Global Affairs Canada and China’s Ministry of Public Security.

Participating countries: Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France – Over 70 people have been arrested in two operations to tackle environmental crime coordinated by INTERPOL, which were announced today ahead of a major meeting on crime and the environment taking place at the COP28 Summit.
 
Environmental crime has become the third most lucrative industry for transnational organized crime groups, generating up to USD 280 billion a year, destabilizing communities, economies and the environment.

Operation Aurum, Nigeria

Conducted across three Nigerian states, Operation Aurum sought to detect and dismantle the criminal networks behind illegal mining, trafficking in mercury and resulting deforestation and poisoning of ecosystems.
 
Vulnerable communities suffer the adverse effects of pollution and other health-related risks caused by illegal mining, in addition to falling victim to kidnapping, intimidation, forced labour and violence from organized crime networks, and terrorist groups such as Boko Haram.
 
52 suspects were arrested during the operation (7 – 9 October), with 11 of these considered high-level targets. Some 18 trucks transporting large quantities of illegally mined products were also seized.
 
Operation Aurum again highlighted that forced labour, notably child labour, was commonplace in mining sites, with most illegal miners recruited, or coerced to work, aged between 12 and 16.

Operation Bahia Negra, Paraguay

This operation targeted networks involved in environmental crimes in the tri-border area (Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia) of Alto Paraguay which is affected by climate change.
 
Bahia Negra aimed to dismantle illicit settlements dedicated to illegal hunting, timber trafficking and forced labour, and investigate illicit timber and wildlife cargo trafficking routes.
 
The operation (16 – 22 October) led to 23 arrests, with six additional suspects identified. Eight of the arrests are linked to an Asian transnational criminal network involved in global wildlife trafficking. Electronic devices were also seized and are undergoing forensic investigation.
 
The initiative established how trafficking in human beings, firearms, drugs, stolen vehicles and counterfeit goods converge geographically with illegal timber and wildlife trafficking along these routes.
 
Both operations were funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

INTERPOL and the UAE’s I2LEC initiative

“Our partnership with the UAE in this endeavour underlines the escalating threat posed by environmental crime in the age of climate change.”
 
To maximize the global response, INTERPOL has joined a newly established coalition as part of the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC).
 
The initiative was founded by the UAE’s Ministry of Interior and is implemented in collaboration with UNODC and other international organizations.
 
INTERPOL will serve as the lead operational arm of I2LEC with a view to coordinating future operations under its umbrella.
 
Since it was established 13 years ago, INTERPOL’s environmental security programme has helped drive global operational efforts to bring players together to fight crimes against the planet.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

VIENNA, Austria – To address the growth and sophistication of transnational organized crime, INTERPOL’s centennial General Assembly has closed with a call to action to tackle this ‘epidemic’.

Faced with greater connectivity between criminal groups and the parallel expansion of illicit activities, the Vienna Declaration sets out five priority actions to ensure law enforcement is better supported in this fight.

Endorsed by INTERPOL’s Executive Committee, the Declaration calls for leaders to consider transnational organized crime as a national security priority, redouble international police cooperation efforts and increase investment in the tools available to law enforcement.

Increased action

Officially closing the conference, Austria’s Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner emphasized the importance of international cooperation: “Shared visions and strategies must lead us side by side into the future.

“Austria will continue to be a strong partner for INTERPOL, actively contributing to realizing our common goals in the service of security.”

INTERPOL President Ahmed Naser al-Raisi said the Vienna Declaration was a real commitment to safeguard communities, secure borders, and protect citizens.

“The measures it outlines must be the foundation of our collective commitment and actions, to address organized crime more effectively. It is an urgent call to action, for every nation, leader, and citizen, to unite in combatting transnational organized crime,” said President Al Raisi.

Global security architecture

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said, “Transnational organized crime is an epidemic. To address the complexity of today’s interconnected networks we must build bridges between separate sources of information.

“Criminals will always exploit every crisis,. This is why coordinated action by law enforcement action – across every region – is essential and why we cannot afford any gap, or weaking of the global security architecture.”

As the only police organization that works at the global level, INTERPOL plays a unique role in supporting international efforts to safeguard communities and make the world a safer place.

Aligned to this, in 2018 INTERPOL launched its Global Policing Goals (GPGs) designed to complement the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The 2023 review of the GPGs, which includes recommendations for engagement with regional law enforcement bodies for a more cohesive and effective global data-sharing framework was endorsed by delegates.

The largest ever INTERPOL General Assembly, held in the same city where the Organization was created in 1923, also saw the approval of a range of resolutions focused on increased action to tackle environmental crime and online child sexual abuse.

Standards

As part of the ongoing reforms to modernize and enhance INTERPOL’s governance, delegates also endorsed resolutions in relation to standards of conduct and ethics for the Organization’s meetings and election campaigning.

The Code was developed by the Governance Working Group, which includes representatives from 74 member countries across all world regions.

The 92nd General Assembly will be held in Glasgow, Scotland where INTERPOL’s membership will vote to appoint a new Secretary General.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France – An Italian fugitive connected to the ‘Ndrangheta mafia network has been arrested in Colombia with support from the INTERPOL Cooperation Against ‘Ndrangheta (I-CAN) Project.

Massimo Gigliotti, aged 55, was wanted internationally by Italian authorities under an INTERPOL Red Notice for trafficking large quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe.

 

Investigation of the suspect had gathered pace in South America after the I-CAN Project flagged the fugitive last September to authorities in Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Venezuela.

Gigliotti was arrested by Colombia’s National Police, after officers from the Carabinieri’s Investigative Operative Department in Bologna analysed and circulated information from EUROPOL. They collaborated with I-CAN and INTERPOL units in Lyon, with support from an Italian officer in Colombia.

INTERPOL Director of Operational Support and Analysis Cyril Gout said:

“Through this arrest, I-CAN continues to demonstrate its effectiveness in fighting one of the most extensive and powerful criminal organizations in the world.

“The I-CAN model is built on providing countries with a cooperation model that brings operational added value, particularly at a time when urgent, coordinated global action is required to tackle transnational organized crime.”

Funded by the Italian Department of Public Security, I-CAN raises global awareness and understanding about the ‘Ndrangheta and their modus operandi, sharing police information to dismantle their networks and operations and arrest wanted suspects.

Since its launch in 2020 I-CAN has facilitated the arrest of 93 fugitives worldwide.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

The Biometric Hub allows officers to identify suspected terrorists or criminals through direct photo and fingerprint checks against INTERPOL databases.

VIENNA, Austria – In mid-November, a fugitive migrant smuggler was subject to a police check in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina with a group of migrants crossing the Balkans towards Western Europe.

Wanted on organized crime and human trafficking charges since 2021, the smuggler presented himself as a fellow migrant under a false name, using a fraudulent identification document to avoid detection.

The police check, however, was part of an INTERPOL operation that saw the Biometric Hub – a new tool that checks biometric data against the organization’s global fingerprint and facial recognition databases – used remotely for the first time.

When the smuggler’s photo was run through the Biometric Hub, it immediately flagged that he was wanted in another European country. He was arrested and is currently awaiting extradition.

The operation, which took place across six countries in the Adriatic region, was part of INTERPOL’s Hotspot initiative, which uses biometric data to help detect foreign terrorist fighters and criminals who try to cross irregular border points.

Cyril Gout, INTERPOL’s Director of Operational Support and Analysis, said:

“A fugitive can change their name and many aspects of their appearance to try and escape justice, but it is difficult if not impossible to change your biometric data. This is why biometrics remain the most reliable way to identify someone.

1 million searches per day

Underpinning the BioHub is a ‘biometric core’ that encompasses INTERPOL’s existing fingerprint and facial recognition databases together with a matching system based on technology developed by the company IDEMIA.

An effective tool for screening individuals crossing a border, the BioHub can also be used for regular police operations within a country.

Over the next two years, the tool will be progressively rolled out to border points and frontline officers across INTERPOL’s membership.

The system is expected to perform up to 1 million forensic searches per day, including fingerprints, palm prints and portraits.

Improved data governance

Previous checks against INTERPOL’s biometric databases were subject to separate, multi-step processes that systematically included human handling or review, meaning that any hits would not be immediately flagged to the requesting officer.

With the BioHub, officers can submit data to both databases through a single interface, which swiftly provides results and allows users to monitor the status of their requests.

Human review from INTERPOL’s forensic experts is only required in cases where the quality of the captured biometric data is such that the match falls below a designated threshold.

Crucially, the BioHub also further improves data governance, in line with INTERPOL’s robust data protection framework.

Biometric data run through the Hub in a search is not added to INTERPOL’s criminal databases, is not visible to other users and any data that does not result in a match is deleted following the search.

Presented earlier this year to INTERPOL’s membership at the organization’s Heads of National Central Bureaus conference in Singapore, the Biometric Hub was rolled out in October and is now available to all 196 member countries.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

VIENNA, Austria – The INTERPOL General Assembly has voted to admit the Republic of Palau as a new member country, bringing the Organization’s total membership to 196.

Palau’s application was approved by a more than two-thirds majority vote at INTERPOL’s 91st General Assembly, currently meeting in Vienna, Austria, where the world police body was created 100 years ago.

Addressing the General Assembly, Gustav Aitaro, State Minister of Palau, said:

“We seek to protect our peace and security, to preserve our Palauan values, culture, and the way of life that we have inherited from our forebears.

“The support of INTERPOL will be crucial to the future of our police force and community.”

With membership taking immediate effect, the country will have participation and voting rights for the remainder of the session.

Greeting Palau’s accession to INTERPOL, Secretary General Jürgen Stock said:

“We warmly welcome Palau to the international law enforcement community. It will play an important role in helping close the global net around transnational organized crime. Likewise, we look forward to supporting Palau in its efforts to protect its citizens and environment.”

A new INTERPOL National Central Bureau

Palau will now establish its National Central Bureau (NCB). NCBs are fully staffed and operated by national law enforcement bodies and operate in accordance with national legislation. They are that country’s single point of contact with the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, as well as for the NCBs of other countries.

INTERPOL membership

Membership of INTERPOL means national law enforcement can instantly both share and receive vital policing information from around the world across a range of crime areas including human trafficking, drug smuggling, cybercrime, vehicle crime and terrorism.

Palau will also benefit from policing capabilities provided by the General Secretariat, such as training, analysis, specialist teams and support from the Command and Coordination Centre.

Through I-24/7, INTERPOL’s secure global police communications network, countries can send messages and also access multiple global databases, including on wanted persons, stolen motor vehicles, stolen and lost travel documents, fingerprints, DNA and face recognition.

While the widest possible cooperation is encouraged, INTERPOL respects the sovereignty of each member country. Member countries retain full ownership of the data they share with INTERPOL and they decide with which other countries their data is shared.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

This week in Vienna, at the annual global meeting of police leaders from around the world, whether in huddled groups in quiet corridors or on the main stage, every law enforcement officer will be talking about one thing: The explosive growth of transnational organized crime.

What every police force knows, but the rest of the world has yet to realize, is that there has been an epidemic of transnational organized crime and at such a scale that it is now a global security crisis.

Whether you are worried about gang fights on your streets, the sexual exploitation of children, forced labour or a drug epidemic killing people in your community, what you are really worrying about is transnational organized crime.

And make no mistake – these are not just concerns in your community and in your country – this is happening globally.
The COVID pandemic accelerated enormous societal changes – and nowhere is that more true than transnational organized crime.

Criminal groups around the world are using the dark web and other tools to create a whole new business model – gone are the days of codes of silence amongst tight-knit groups; these criminal groups do not even know who they are working with and are making anonymous connections online.

They are outsourcing, creating partnerships, bringing together different criminal activities. They are expanding markets globally while operating under the radar and often undetected, simultaneously undermining the rule of law and democracy in those countries.

This is all cyber enabled, but we are also seeing the growth of online crime committed in one country and exploiting people in another – cybercrime as a service for the price of a takeaway meal. Vulnerable people being targeted every second of the day for their life savings in romance scams, fraud and password hacks.

What is a local police officer meant to do about a criminal who is 7,000 miles away? In fact, what is the most well-resourced police service meant to do about a criminal operating anonymously on a different continent? No single law enforcement body, no regional grouping, no one can tackle this explosion of organized crime on their own.

International organized crime groups are exploiting difficult relationships between countries, they are exploiting conflicts and they are exploiting the fact that law enforcement’s investment in technology has been significantly outpaced by the criminals.
In a splintered world, a message of greater global unity is challenging – but without greater information sharing, more cooperation, and without giving every police officer in every community the tools to recognize and tackle transnational organized crime, no country in the world can cope with this challenge on their own.

That is why, later today at INTERPOL’s annual conference in our centenary year, we will be launching the Vienna Declaration.
This will make clear to the world’s leaders – on behalf of their police officers – that without treating this explosion, this second pandemic, this crisis of transnational organized crime as a shared, global national security crisis, none of our communities will be safe.

This epidemic can only be tackled by urgent, coordinated global action, greater cooperation between countries and regions and by investing in shared technology. The perilous state of global security means that bringing the world together is now urgent.

The world faces many challenges – climate change, geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts and it will be tempting for leaders to hope someone else will find a solution, but that is not going to happen. We can only tackle this explosion of transnational organized crime if we all do our part.

The first duty of a state is to keep its people safe. Without unity in addressing this threat, and addressing it now, it is going to be beyond the reach of the world’s law enforcement and security agencies.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France – A murdered woman has been identified as Rita Roberts after 31 years following Operation Identify Me.
 
The international appeal was launched in May of this year by Belgian, Dutch and German police, in collaboration with INTERPOL, seeking the public’s help in identifying 22 women believed to have been murdered.
 
One of those cold cases, known as ‘the woman with the flower tattoo’, dated back to 3 June 1992, when a woman’s body was found against a grate in the water of the river ‘Groot Schijn’ near the Ten Eekhovelei in Antwerp, Belgium. She had been violently killed.
 
Her most striking physical feature was a flower tattoo on her left forearm of a black flower with green leaves and with ‘R’Nick’ written underneath. For three decades, the victim remained nameless.

How Rita Roberts was identified

The following details have been made public with the agreement of the victim’s family and that of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office:

• Rita Roberts was 31 when she moved to Antwerp from Cardiff in February 1992.
• She last communicated with her relatives via postcard in May 1992.
• On 10 May of this year, Operation Identify Me was launched, receiving significant coverage and generating some 1,250 tips from the public.
• A family member in the United Kingdom recognized the tattoo on the news and notified INTERPOL and Belgian authorities via the Identify Me appeal web page.
• The family then travelled to meet with investigators in Belgium, and formally identified their missing relative through distinguishing personal identifiers.
• Thereafter, the Antwerp family court was petitioned to have the victim’s death certificate amended to reflect her identity.

The family of Rita Roberts said in a statement:

“The news was shocking and heartbreaking. Our passionate, loving and free-spirited sister was cruelly taken away. There are no words to truly express the grief we felt at that time, and still feel today.

“Whilst the news has been difficult to process, we are incredibly grateful to have uncovered what happened to Rita. We miss her deeply but are thankful for the excellent support and care of Belgium Missing Persons, Antwerp Police, INTERPOL and Durham Police in the UK. This cross-border collaboration has given a missing girl back her identity, and enabled the family to know she is at rest.

“Rita was a beautiful person who adored travelling. She loved her family, especially her nephews and nieces, and always wanted to have a family of her own. She had the ability to light up a room, and wherever she went, she was the life and soul of the party. We hope that wherever she is now, she is at peace.”

The family have asked for the media not to contact them during their grieving process.

Now that her identify is known, Belgian authorities are calling on the public for any information they may have on Rita Roberts or the circumstances surrounding her death. This can be submitted via an online form on INTERPOL’s website.

“We congratulate the authorities in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands for their leadership in Operation Identify Me. Its important work continues.”
 

INTERPOL’s Black Notices

Operation Identify Me was the first time INTERPOL released public extracts from Black Notices. These are used to seek information on unidentified bodies and to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.
 
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.
 
Since 2021, INTERPOL has been providing investigators with a new global tool, the I-Familia database. 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.

Identify Me appeal

The work of Operation Identify Me continues. Members of the public, particularly those who remember a missing friend or family member, are invited to consult www.INTERPOL.int/IM and contact both INTERPOL and the relevant national police team should they have any information on any of the cases.
 
For biological relatives who believe one of the deceased women could be their missing loved one, national police once contacted can liaise with INTERPOL for international DNA comparison.
 
Contact forms are at the bottom of each online case summary.