Jürgen Stock presented the data in Luanda, at the opening of the 26th Interpol African Regional Conference, which is attended by around 250 delegates from various countries and senior international and Angolan leaders.
The official highlighted that Africa is one of Interpol's main priorities and that there has been significant progress in terms of cooperation.
“Last year alone, police data shared by African police increased by 7 percent while the use of Interpol databases grew by 26 percent,” he highlighted.
Furthermore, "Interpol's secure I-24/7 police communications network has been successfully extended beyond national central services in 47 African member countries," he added.
In addition to arrests and seizures of monetary amounts, Interpol is also working to support African member countries in strengthening police capacity to tackle emerging criminal threats.
“In 2023 alone, Interpol implemented more than 40 initiatives – worth more than 170 million euros – dedicated to strengthening African law enforcement capabilities”, reinforced the director.
Jürgen Stock highlighted that Angola has been an active member of the organization since its accession 41 years ago, participating in several Interpol projects and operations, and the fact of hosting this conference demonstrates the country's “firm commitment to international police cooperation ”, which celebrates its 100th anniversary.
He noted, on the other hand, that the message that has been conveyed to him by police leaders and government officials in Africa and around the world is that transnational organized crime networks are creating "a national security emergency", since since the covid pandemic, organized crime "exploded".
“Without an urgent international response, they will threaten our communities, our companies and even our planet, as natural resources are exploited on an industrial scale”, he warned.
The secretary general of Interpol argued, therefore, that no country can face these challenges alone and that only strong police cooperation can help put an end to transcontinental criminal networks.
