Police agency expands global network to combat transnational scam crimes

The Korean National Police Agency held the inaugural general assembly of the International Investigative Cooperation Alliance (IICA) at Songdo Convensia in Incheon on Friday, adopting a resolution with 15 participating countries that sets out the basic principles for joint action against transnational scam crimes.

The IICA is a multilateral body the Korean National Police Agency spearheaded to enable police forces from multiple countries to tackle crimes too deeply entrenched for any single nation to uproot alone. It launched in October last year with nine countries and Interpol among its founding members and has since grown to 52 countries.

More than 100 representatives from 26 countries — including the United States, Germany, Sweden, Singapore and Australia — as well as six international organizations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, attended the assembly.

Three rounds of the IICA-led joint international operation "Breaking Chains," targeting scams and human trafficking, produced 116 case referrals and 227 investigative leads shared among member countries. South Korean police used that intelligence to arrest 132 suspects and repatriate 73 to South Korea through last month.

Police said they plan to continue broadening the scope of international cooperation on transnational crime through the alliance.

"The alliance that started with nine countries a year ago has now become a cooperative network spanning five continents," said Kim Jong-cheol, acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency. "No matter where in the world the criminal organizations targeting our citizens are hiding, we will track them down and bring them to justice together with police from each country."