A view of CBI headquarters in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: V. Sudershan
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has coordinated the return of a gold smuggling case accused from Saudi Arabia via Interpol channels.
The accused has been identified as Shokat Ali and he was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
On September 13, 2021, an Interpol Red Notice was issued against him based on a request made through the CBI. He was tracked down to Saudi Arabia and brought back to India.
A Red Notice issued by Interpol is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It is based on an arrest warrant or court order issued by the judicial authorities in the requesting country.
“The subject is wanted by the NIA in a criminal case registered on September 22, 2020, related to seizure of smuggled gold bars at Jaipur International Airport in Rajasthan on July 3, 2020,” an official said.
In February, the CBI had coordinated the return of a life convict, Narender Singh, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Interpol channels. Wanted by the Haryana police, Singh was located in the UAE and a team of the State’s special task force escorted him back to India.
The accused was wanted in a case registered with Tohana police station in Fatehabad in December 1994 for the offences of murder, rioting, and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
“Due to close coordination and follow-up with foreign law enforcement agencies via Interpol channels, as many as 29 criminals wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies were returned from abroad in 2023. The CBI has got published as many as 100 Red Notices through Interpol on criminals and fugitives wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies in 2023,” the agency had earlier said.