PARIS – French police have opened an investigation into the reporteddisappearance last week of Meng Hongwei, the Chinese head of theinternational police organisation Interpol, a source close to the inquirysaid.
Meng was last seen leaving for China from Interpol´s headquarters in Lyon,southeast France, in late September, the source said. His wife reported himmissing.
“He did not disappear in France,” the source told AFP.
Europe reported that he left the country on September 29.
Before being elected head of Interpol in November 2016, Meng was viceminister of public security in China, which critics say gave him controlover the secret police.
He was the first Chinese leader of Interpol, which connects the lawenforcement agencies of its 192 member countries.
It does not have agents of its own with powers of arrest.
Read Top Stories
Beijing saw Meng´s election as a chance to enlist more international helpin tracking down alleged economic criminals, including corrupt officials,targeted by President Xi Jinping´s anti-graft campaign.
But the drive, known as Operation Fox Hunt, has led to claims in somecountries that Chinese law enforcement agents have been operating covertlyon their soil without the approval or consent of local authorities.
Since it began several top officials have been detained and charged withcrimes including “severe disciplinary violations”, a phrase which usuallyrefers to corruption or graft.
Meng´s term is scheduled to run until 2020. – APP/AFP
