MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - Seventy-two defendants were extradited to Russia in 2018, according to the head of the Russian National Central Bureau of Interpol, Police Maj. Gen. Alexander Prokopchuk.
"Thanks to using Interpol channels, about 150 defendants were detained in foreign countries at our requests last year, and 72 detainees were extradited to Russia for prosecution," Prokopchuk told Interfax.
In 2018, "non-CIS countries extradited five suspected terrorists, who were earlier detained at the Bureau's request, to Russia," among them the first person ever extradited from Afghanistan, he said.
As many as 116 persons were detained in Russia last year at the request of foreign countries, Prokopchuk said.
"Those detentions had diverse circumstances: some occurred at border control booths while suspects were crossing the Russian state border, and some during routine ID checks. Yet in many cases international criminals are detained as a result of special operations coordinated by the Russian National Central Bureau of Interpol," he said.
Employees of the National Central Bureau take part in detentions from time to time, especially if a suspect is spotted in the Moscow region, Prokopchuk said. "Still, as a rule, such operations involve officers of not only Interpol, but also of the criminal police, the service of district police inspectors, and other police branches," he said.
"A short time ago, officers of the Bureau took direct part in the detention in the city of Moscow of a Cuban citizen accused of murder in his home country. He was staying in Moscow illegally and was employed as both a store loader and a Latin dancer in a club," Prokopchuk said.
The National Central Bureau has territorial divisions in Russian regions. Their personnel contribute to the search for internationally wanted fugitives, Prokopchuk said.