DOHA, Qatar – The INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme has presented wildlife crime law enforcement representatives from Botswana and Poland with the INTERPOL Ecomessage Award for their outstanding efforts in combating international wildlife crime.

The EUR 20,000 award is funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and is presented to the country or countries which have contributed most significantly to the international exchange of intelligence relating to environmental criminals. Botswana and Poland were recognized, in particular, for the value of their information and their consistency in submitting ecomessages.

LYON, France - On 10 March 2010, officials from Argentina and Iran met for the first time since 2007 at INTERPOL headquarters as part of the international police agency's continued efforts to advance discussions about judicial proceedings relating to the 1994 bombing of the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA) centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 people were killed and hundreds more injured.

While there was no apparent substantive progress made during the meeting, INTERPOL remains committed to the process in bringing about a resolution between its two member countries regarding the pending charges.

    

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LYON, France – Senior police officials attending INTERPOL’s sixth annual Heads of National Central Bureaus (NCBs) conference have agreed a series of proposals aimed at enhancing international police co-operation and supporting the work of officers in the field – in particular for the security of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Addressing the 250 delegates from nearly 140 countries, South Africa’s National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele said the deployment of an INTERPOL Major Events Support Team (IMEST) for the 2010 FIFA World Cup would ‘contribute greatly to the safety and security of the visiting spectators, teams, officials, South Africans and of the entire event’.

    

LYON, France – INTERPOL is to join a Dubai-based international task force investigating the murder of Palestinian national and Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on 19 January 2010. At the request of UAE/Dubai authorities, the world police body has also issued a further 16 Red Notices to assist in the arrest of additional suspects now linked to the murder of Al-Mabhouh, bringing the total to 27.

The creation of the task force and the publication of the new Red Notices came as investigative information provided by the authorities in Dubai bore out the international links and broad scope of the number of people involved, as well as the role of two ‘teams’ of individuals identified by the Dubai police as being linked to Al-Mabhouh’s murder.