INTERPOL Washington Assists The Republic of Maldives in Enhancing its Border Security Capabilities.

INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)—has partnered with the U.S. Department of State to significantly increase the capacity of The Republic of Maldives to screen against the illicit international travel of transnational criminals and terrorists. Under the State Department funded Project TERMINUS, on February 26, 2021, the Maldives Government implemented an automated system for uploading its stolen and lost travel documents into INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, a searchable repository containing more than 100 million records that can be queried by law enforcement and border security authorities in all 194 INTERPOL member countries. This automation was made possible by hardware and software built, provided and installed remotely by the USNCB. 

The SLTD Uploader software solution is a USNCB custom design which allows both the Maldives Immigration Service and the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Malé, to connect directly to INTERPOL’s SLTD database.

This accomplishment is the culmination of more than three months of active collaboration between the USNCB, the State Department, INTERPOL, and the Government of Maldives, all of which was conducted virtually.

“INTERPOL Washington is pleased to continue our partnership with the U.S. Department of State to develop and deploy the advanced tools and technology that can assist law enforcement partners worldwide in the fight against transnational crime and terrorism. The assistance being provided through Project TERMINUS contributes to both the individual and collective ability of all INTERPOL member countries, including the United States, to more effectively secure their borders against these transnational threats” said Acting Director Michael Hughes.  

Established in 2018, Project TERMINUS is a partnership between the USNCB’s Border Security Division and the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. This mission of Project TERMINUS is to extend INTERPOL's I-24/7 secure, global police-to-police communications system in high risk areas and select host nations globally.

In addition to The Maldives, Partner Nations currently receiving assistance under Project TERMINUS include Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria.

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A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, the USNCB is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, the USNCB serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.