Criminals have no land to hide

Nepal has got an opportunity to hold the 23rd Interpol Asian Regional Conference after 27 years. Nepal had put-forth a proposal in the conference held in Singapore last year. With the support Nepal received from member states, Nepal Police is organizing this conference for the second time here in Kathmandu. In this context Republica Journalist Deepak Kharel recently talked to Upendra Kanta Aryal, Inspector General of Police (IGP) for his views.

How is Nepal Police making preparations to capitalize on the conference?

Nepal has prepared to present an agenda before the member states of Interpol of Asia Province with full enthusiasm. Among the main agendas, I am going to present the various facets of human trafficking including the other areas affected by crimes. Apart from this, the conference will also hold discussions and interaction on cyber crimes, drugs trafficking, finance- related crimes and gambling with the officials of the law enforcement unit.

It has been difficult to repatriate criminals to and from the countries that have not signed treaty with Nepal. Will this conference address this problem?

We are hopeful that the conference will be instrumental in crime controlling and a forum for dwelling on crimes and difficulties faced in the course of tackling them. The central focus of the conference will be to develop a procedure so that criminals will get no space to hide in any corner of the world after they escape their countries.

A recent investigation has shown criminals fleeing to countries of Asia Province, Australia, America and Europe after committing crimes in their countries unlike the previous trend when they used to flee to India after committing crime in Nepal and vice versa.

We will be discussing how we can reach out to them without having to wait for a long time.

The murders of Supreme Court Justice Rana Bahadur Bam were quickly arrested and brought to Nepal with the help of the Interpol. But such Interpol’s promptness hasn’t been witnessed in other cases. Is the cooperation from the Interpol based on the kind of case?

The support from the Interpol depends upon the law of the state members. Similarly, the repatriation law of Nepal and the countries concerned also play a role in this regard. The law of the Interpol member states and our country play a vital role.

The Interpol suspended red corner notice issued against most-wanted wildlife 'smuggler' Ian Baker after Nepal appealed to the global police body to review the notice. Why?

Ian Baker is a most-wanted wildlife smuggler. After being listed in Red Corner Notice, Ian was on the run and we continuously searched for him. Later, Ian filed an appeal at the Interpol stating that he had simply been alleged. Interpol did not remove his name from the red corner list but hid it from being publicized. After that we were questioned by the Interpol headquarters. Nepal NCB continued corresponding with evidences. Ian was convicted, finally. But due to legal hurdles existing between Ian’s country of birth and Nepal, we have not been able to arrest him.

Nepal has been surrounded by powerful countries in the north and south. Given the geo-political condition, financial and organized crimes have been increasing rapidly. Will this issue be raised by the conference?

I have said already that this conference will dwell on the international issues rather than bilateral ones. Nepal will put forward its issue with the neighboring coutries in an informal manner.

As an organizer, what message are you going to deliver through the conference?

People are bound to follow the rules formulated under police and law enforcement unit of the country. The conference is going to be organized with an intention to end internationalization of crimes, use of technologies for committing crimes, among others. With the help of Interpol, we must ensure that the culprit hiding in a foreign land is not safe. Now- a-days, there is a growing trend of committing crimes in a country, living in a foreign land. The conference is mostly going to cover these issues. The conference will conclude with the message ensuring that there is no hiding land for criminals on the planet.