58 fugitives, suspected in particular of murder or rape of a minor, were arrested during a coordinated operation between police from 16 countries carried out between July and December, Interpol announced on Friday.
The fugitives were all the subject of “red notices”, wanted notices issued by the justice system of a country and transmitted by Interpol to other member states, and were among “the most dangerous” suspects on the list, according to a press release of the international organization for police cooperation.
15 were wanted for murder, 14 for drug trafficking and 18 for crimes against children, and some had been on the run for more than 15 years, specifies Interpol, whose headquarters is in Lyon.
23 were arrested in Europe, including 13 in Spain, after several months of cooperation between 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries and 4 European countries, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
One of the suspects, arrested in Brazil, “was among the most wanted fugitives in Spain” for rape of a minor, according to the press release.
Another, David EG, arrested in Colombia, was wanted by the Brazilian authorities for the murder of his partner, perpetrated in front of his 8-month-old daughter.
“The child had been left in a cradle next to her mother's body and was discovered several days later, in a state of malnutrition,” explains Interpol.
In addition to the 58 defendants arrested, the last of which was on Tuesday, the organization told AFP, the operation enabled the location of 28 suspects and will “very likely result in new arrests” soon.
These arrests are part of a project whose first phase took place between 2018 and 2022 and which enabled the arrest and location of 150 suspects.
