Boxer case: FBI's key role a return favour, say cops

In December last year, officials of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sought Delhi Police's help in catching cyber criminals who were frequently defrauding American people, especially senior citizens, on the pretext of providing them technology support for their "malfunctioning" computers. FBI approached the Delhi Police through the Interpol wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with details of cyber criminals who were operating call centres in Delhi and adjoining areas to defraud senior citizens in the US.

- Karn Pratap Singh

In a joint operation involving Delhi Police, FBI and the Canadian law enforcement agencies, three suspects were nabbed in Delhi, blowing the lid off a trans-continental scam.

FBI and the Delhi Police collabrated once again in March this year when the US agency was informed about notorious Delhi gangster Deepak Pahal alias Boxer escaping to Mexico.

Senior police officers involved with the operation, code named Operation Mexico, to nab and bring Boxer back to India said that even though FBI was not directly involved, it played a vital role in the arrest and immediate deportation of the gangster to India from Cancun, Mexico.

The officers said the US federal agency coordinated with the Mexican immigration and police agencies and ensured that Boxer was caught in their country and handed over to the two-member Delhi Police special cell team that reached Cancun to secure his deportation, the officers said.

They described it as a reciprocal gesture between the two law enforcement agencies, with the US agency returning the favour for the help that the Delhi Police extended in busting the tech support scam.

"Information about Boxer's criminal antecedents, including his fingerprints, and details of the fake passport he was using, were shared with FBI and the Interpol.

A red notice was issued against Boxer through the Interpol," said a senior Special Cell officer involved in Operation Mexico.