Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After the second world war, France, the United Kingdom and Belgium established a new organisation, which reused the initial name ‘International Criminal Police Organization’.
After 1956, it moved to Lyon in France, and was renamed Interpol.
As the second-largest international organization, Interpol maintained political neutrality. It would not involve itself in any political, military, or religious matters, let alone internal national crimes.
Its goal was to prioritize the safety of the world’s citizens, mainly conducting investigations on international terrorist activities and organized crimes such as drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering, cyber crimes and transnational corruption crimes.
Interpol would host annual general assemblies and international or regional seminars. The organization also routinely maintained close ties with governments across the globe to facilitate the international persecution of criminals.
The ‘red notice’ was an urgent arrest warrant issued by the Interpol to combat international criminal activity.
The most important branch of Interpol was the counter-terrorism unit. Back then, as the highest-ranking inspector in the counter-terrorism unit, ‘Vermilion Bird’ was extremely famous.
Standing fixedly outside the president’s office, Vermilion Bird gently knocked on the door.
“Please come in!”
She pushed the door open and walked toward the desk. Gazing at the middle-aged Asian man sitting on the chair, she raised her hand to salute him. “Sir!”
The man was the new president of the Interpol, Liu Yuanwei.
Liu Yuanwei, who also served as the Minister of Public Security, was elected as the new president during the 85th Interpol General Assembly in Indonesia. He was going to serve a term of four years.
He was also the first Chinese president of Interpol in decades, since the establishment of the organization.
Liu Yuanwei shot her a brief glance. Without engaging in any small talk, he passed a paper file to her.
“I have a mission for you.”
Vermillion Bird expressionlessly opened the pile, revealing a thick stack of documents with a glaring red logo on the upper right corner.
This was a red notice.
Interpol would issue various notices, with the most infamous one being the ‘red notice’ which had the authority to prohibit criminals from leaving the country.
The red notice was one of the seven international notices issued by Interpol when requesting other nations to assist in their criminal investigations. It was named after the red Interpol logo on the upper right hand corner of the notices, which symbolized that it was the highest level emergency arrest warrant. The other six were blue, green, yellow, black, orange, and purple notices.
The notices would be issued in the organization’s official languages—English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. Interpol would also issue special warrants alongside the United Nations, primarily for those involved in the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions.
The red notice was jointly issued by the director of the National Central Bureaus and the secretary-general of the General Secretariat in Interpol. It could be regarded as an international certificate which allowed for provisional detention.
The red notice was effective for five years and could be extended until the case was closed.
When the National Central Bureau received a red notice, they could immediately detain the wanted persons and proceed with international extradition according to the national laws.
“Gu Jinglian?”
Vermillion Bird looked up, her eyes filled with confusion.
The documents detailed a long list of crimes and accusations, with Gu Jinglian reigning at the top of the wanted list.