INTERPOL appreciates President’s support

 INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock met with President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s Office in Colombo Yesterday

• President presented with medallion in appreciation for support after Easter attacks

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock yesterday awarded a medallion to President Maithripala Sirisena for swiftly taking action to apprehend the criminals who were responsible for the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. 

The medallion also extends to the Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka Police and Intelligence services. The medal was presented to President Sirisena at the President’s Office in Colombo.

The President thanked the INTERPOL Secretary General for immediately responding to the request made for assistance to investigate the 21 April terror attacks. Stock said that his organisation had sent a team of experts to Colombo within two days of the attack to provide intelligence expert guidance and database information on terrorists. 

The INTERPOL maintains a database on over 50,000 terrorists around the world and the Sri Lankan police and intelligence services could access data through the INTERPOL Asia office in Singapore. Stock said that 

Sri Lanka Police and intelligence officials are respected professionals and the INTERPOL experts received their fullest cooperation. 

President Sirisena thanked INTERPOL for the assistance given to Sri Lanka to fight crime. He wanted further co-operation to detect drug smugglers and to extradite drug lords and the financial criminals hiding in foreign countries.

INTERPOL Secretary General assured the President the organisation’s fullest cooperation. He said new agreements could be reached to provide new drug-tracking tools and expertise to law enforcement officials to identify the origin and routes of compressed drug deliveries and shipments through an automated comparative analysis, logos and chemical compositions of drug packages.

Secretary to the President Udaya R. Seneviratne, Defence Secretary Gen. S. Kottegoda, Actg. IGP C. D. Wickremaratne, INTERPOL Assistant Director (Terrorist Networks) Karel Pelan and senior officials were present at this occasion.