INTERPOL border safety operation yields document arrests, very important info on terrorist journey

LYON, France – 328 people topic to INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions, together with 57 with suspected hyperlinks to terrorism, have been recognized following border checks at over 70 areas in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

A complete of 20 nations took half in Operation Neptune VII (July – September 2025), coordinated by INTERPOL in cooperation with Europol, Frontex and the World Customs Organization (WCO), and geared toward tightening border safety round maritime routes throughout the Mediterranean Sea, and at airports and land borders within the area. The operation ran for round two weeks in every nation and achieved a major improve in each the variety of checks in opposition to INTERPOL databases – 30 million in comparison with 16 million in 2024 – and arrests – a complete of 153, up from 66.

Among these arrested was Igor Grechushkin, the proprietor of the cargo ship that carried the ammonium nitrate behind the 2020 Beirut explosion, which killed not less than 218 folks and injured over 6,000. He was detained at Sofia airport in Bulgaria on the idea of a Red Notice issued by Lebanon, the place he faces a number of prices, together with acts of terrorism. Extradition proceedings are ongoing.

 

An additional 23 arrests had been linked to INTERPOL Red Notices or Red Diffusions – which might type the idea for a provisional arrest – for crimes together with medicine and involvement in felony organizations. They included the detention on the Spanish port of Algeciras of two people needed respectively for terrorism and drugs-related offences.

Tracking Foreign Terrorist Fighters on the transfer throughout borders

Neptune VII additionally offered regulation enforcement businesses with important info permitting them to analyse and observe the actions of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, notably due to the publication of Blue Notices and Diffusions. Unlike a Red Notice, these are requests between INTERPOL member nations to gather extra details about an individual’s identification, location or actions, in relation to a felony investigation.

A complete of 10 Blue Notices for suspects linked to terrorism had been revealed throughout the operation, and checks in opposition to INTERPOL databases in a number of nations led to “hits” offering additional info on nearly 60 suspected Foreign Terrorist Fighters and their actions. The operation additionally uncovered info on various people with connections to terrorism who had been beforehand not recorded in INTERPOL databases.

INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza stated:

“Terrorist groups aim to create fear, endanger the safety of individuals and entire regions, often profiting from organized crime to fund their activities. However, this operation demonstrates the strength of law enforcement cooperation in countering such threats. We remain dedicated to protecting global security by providing our member countries with the information, tools and support they need to identify and bring terrorists to justice.”

 

High worth seizures from journey documents to luxurious vehicles

The operation additionally led to important seizures involving each terrorist actions and different critical crimes. Crosschecks in opposition to INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database led to 130 “hits”, together with numerous stolen clean paperwork which had beforehand been reported as seized by terrorist teams working within the Middle East. Other seizures ranged from 220 kg of marijuana to twenty kg of silver bullion, USD 130,000 in money and quite a few stolen luxurious automobiles. High worth items, medicine and money are sometimes used to fund felony and terrorist actions.

 

Notes to editors

Neptune VII was funded by Global Affairs Canada, The Kingdom of the Netherlands and Frontex.

Participating nations: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Tunisia