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Organization And Functions Manual

3. Provisional Arrests And International Extradition Requests—Red, Blue, Or Green Notices

  1. "International Wanted Notices" or Red Notices are issued by the Secretariat General INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France, at the request of an INTERPOL member country and are distributed to all other member countries. The Red Notices describe wanted persons and invariably ask that the subject be arrested, with a view to extradition in certain countries, depending upon extradition treaties.

    In the United States, national law prohibits the arrest of the subject of a Red Notice issued by another INTERPOL member country, based upon the notice alone. If the subject for a Red Notice is found within the United States, the Criminal Division will make a determination if a valid extradition treaty exists between the United States and the requesting country for the specified crime or crimes. If the subject can be extradited, and after a diplomatic request for provisional arrest is received from the requesting country, the facts are communicated to the U.S. Attorney's Office with jurisdiction which will file a complaint and obtain an arrest warrant requesting extradition. Since June 1980, in certain major criminal cases, the INTERPOL-USNCB, in coordination with appropriate officials from the Criminal Division, has initiated issuance of Red Notices which provide for the provisional arrest of the subject, and which are posted to all INTERPOL member countries and all U.S. border points of entry. These fugitives are also entered into NCIC. Subsequent extradition requests are processed through the diplomatic channels of the Department of State, in coordination with the Criminal Division and the INTERPOL-USNCB.

  2. INTERPOL Blue Notices are issued by the Secretariat General at the request of a member country to have someone's identity verified, obtain particulars about a person's criminal record, or locate someone who is missing or wanted for violation of ordinary criminal law and whose extradition may be requested.
     
  3. INTERPOL Green Notices are issued by the Secretariat General at a member country's request to give law enforcement agencies in member countries information about persons who have committed or are likely to commit crimes affecting several countries. (International Traveling Criminals).