Details of 180,661 travel documents maintained in Interpol database

Kathmandu, September 15

Interpol, Kathmandu, has exercised greater vigilance at Tribhuvan International Airport to prevent potential movement of criminals using stolen or lost passports to obfuscate their identity for the purpose of fleeing abroad.

National Central Bureau, a division of the concerned national police agency, which serves as a contact point for the Interpol in 192 member countries, has been maintaining and updating Stolen and Lost Travel Document database of Interpol Secretariat, France, with details of all passports registered at the Department of Passports as stolen or lost ones.

NCB, Kathmandu, serves as the national point of contact for all Interpol matters in Nepal, and coordinates international investigative cooperation between Interpol member countries throughout the world and law enforcement agencies in Nepal. Inspector General of Police acts as the NCB head.

Superintendent of Police Umeshraj Joshi, in-charge at Interpol Section, said the details of as many as 180,661 passports were entered into the Interpol’s SLTD database since 2014. “Interpol Section, Kathmandu, also provides information about passports and travel documents to other NCBs on request. Nepal Police, in association with the Department of Immigration, DoP, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and TIA, has stepped up search efforts for those using stolen or lost passports and hiding in foreign countries after committing crimes in Nepal.

The campaign also focuses on human traffickers, smugglers, terrorists and those on Interpol watch list.  Mobile Interpol Network Database, popularly called MIND Device, has also been brought into use in Immigration Office, TIA, to catch criminals holding stolen or lost passport and disguising themselves as someone else. “MIND Device helps us identify such criminals,” SP Joshi said.

According to Nepal Police, the campaign was initiated acting on information that transnational criminal networks were using stolen or lost passports of citizens belonging to South Asian and Southeast Asian countries to serve their purposes.

As per this strategy, TIA immigration and police will verify the real identity of persons arriving at and departing from TIA. Officials have been authorised to detain any suspect for further investigation.

The objectives of NCB  is to facilitate cross-border police cooperation, support and assist all organisations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crimes even where diplomatic relations between particular countries do not exist.

NCB uses Interpol’s secure global police communication system called I-24/7 to share information, coordinate police activities and access Interpol databases, said Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Thapa Kshetri, Nepal Police spokesperson.  It transmits messages about wanted fugitives, kidnapped children, terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, and other criminal activities to assist police investigations around the world.