INTERPOL Washington Provides Support to 400th Foreign Fugitive Arrest by ICE

In February 2017, INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau--and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) determined that a fugitive residing in the New York City area was a positive match for an INTERPOL Red Notice for a person wanted in Spain for a homicide. Last month, their investigative work resulted in the arrest of Rafael Alberto-Burgos, the 400^th foreign fugitive arrest of the fiscal year for ERO. INTERPOL Washington played a key role in facilitating collaboration between ERO and the Spanish National Police in Barcelona. Read the ICE news release here.

ICE is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A key partner of INTERPOL Washington, ICE details personnel to support the agency mission. ICE’s primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.

One of the primary missions of INTERPOL and INTERPOL Washington is to seek the location, and ultimately the arrest, of fugitives wanted in the U.S. and in other countries. INTERPOL Washington assists federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in the U.S. seeking the location of fugitives who have fled the U.S., and assists foreign police in locating their fugitives believed to be in the U.S. INTERPOL Washington is also responsible for seeking the publication of all INTERPOL Notices, including Red or wanted fugitives Notices, on behalf of U.S. authorities, and alerting U.S. authorities to the existence of INTERPOL Notices published on behalf of other countries.

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington 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.

Photograph courtesy of ICE ERO.