INTERPOL executives interact with Vice President

Accra, July 14, GNA - The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) on Thursday resolved to deal with "419", the white colour crime that was threatening a permanent reign in the West Africa Sub-Region.

The organisation is also adopting an "upstream approach" to deal with drug trafficking in Africa by blocking the routes, sources and transit points of the flourishing narcotic trade. Mr Jackie Selebi, President of INTERPOL, disclosed this in Accra, when he led a delegation of Police Officers attending the 18th African Regional Conference in Accra, to pay a courtesy call on Vice President Aliu Mahama at the Castle Osu.

He said the conference resolved to tackle vehicle and passport theft; the tracking and arresting of fugitives from the law and the enhancement of inter- Police cooperation in the Sub Region. Mr Ronald Noble, General Secretary of INTERPOL, also unveiled measures to deal with trans-national crime and the establishment of the first drug sniffer programme in Africa to check drug trafficking. Alhaji Mahama appealed for the support of INTERPOL to deal with the increasing trend of armed robbery in Ghana and global terrorism. He expressed the need for the training of the Ghana Police Service to enable the personnel to pre-empt crimes.

The Vice President observed that Africans had embraced democracy as the mainstay of governance and called on INTERPOL to play a proactive role to guard and sustain the process.

He commended INTERPOL for supporting Ghana Police with equipment to tap information from the database of the organisation to combat crime. The three-day biennial INTEROPOL Regional conference that attracted about 135 security representatives from 41 African countries is on the theme: "Crisis Management Support and Strategy."

Topics being discussed include: "Drug and Human Trafficking", "Money Laundering", "Cyber/ Computer Fraud", "Gunrunning", "Crisis Support and Terrorism", "Examination and Adoption of The Rules of Governing The African Contact Officers Network" and "Support for Regional Police Cooperation Activities".

Created in 1923, the France-based world largest international Police organisation with 181 member countries facilitates cross-border Police cooperation and supports and assists all authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat crime.

The core functions of INTERPOL are to secure global communications services and operate data services and databases for Police and Police support services.