Singapore: In an alarming revelation that
could send shivers down the spine of aviation security
managers, Interpol has said about 40,000 people criss-crossed
the globe with lost or stolen travel documents in the recent
past.
"Terrorists and dangerous criminals continue to move
from one country to another on stolen, falsified or lost
documents," Interpol chief Ronald K Noble told PTI in an
interview here.
Maintaining that the airline industry faced the
"maximum threat" and "continues to be the prime target", he
said, "Over past several months, we have scrutinised 490
million passports and identified about 40,000 such documents
which were lost or stolen. Travelling with such documents is
the biggest threat (to aviation)."
These 40,000 travel documentts belonged to 26 countries
which have since been informed by the Interpol, Noble said.
Asking the airline industry to "care more about stolen
passports", he said criminals and terrorists who travel
extensively "will continue to use stolen and lost passports to
conceal their true identity until we plug this glaring
security gap".
"Each government should focus on the non-nationals who
want to come to their country. Visas should be issued after
checking from the police (in the visitor`s country). More
information about people and their background should be
collected (before giving visas)," he said.
Noble, first elected in 2000 as Secretary General of the
International Criminal Police Organisation or Interpol, was
here to attend the summit of the International Air Transport
Association. He was re-elected to the post last year to serve
the third consecutive five-year term.
PTI
