SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
CRIME HAS NO BORDERS, AND NEITHER SHOULD THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE
When Criminals Cross Continents: Identifying People Who Commit Crimes in the USA and Enter Nepal, or Commit Crimes in Nepal and Escape to America
By Hark Bahadur Tamrakar (HB Tamrakar)
Crime has entered a new era. In the past, when a person committed a crime, escaped from the scene and attempted to hide, the biggest challenge for police was finding that person within the country. Today, the situation is fundamentally different. The expansion of international air travel, migration, digital communication, financial networks and global communities has created an environment in which an individual accused of a serious crime can potentially leave one country and reach another within hours. A person who commits a crime in Nepal may travel to the United States, while someone involved in a criminal investigation in the United States may travel to Nepal. This creates a serious question for modern law enforcement: when an individual crosses an international border, how can police determine who that person really is, whether that individual is wanted in connection with a criminal investigation, and what lawful steps can be taken next? For Nepal, this is no longer merely a theoretical question. With increasing movement of Nepalis between Nepal, the United States, Japan, Australia, Europe, the Gulf and other parts of the world, international criminal cooperation is becoming an increasingly important part of national security and public safety.
If a person commits a serious crime in the United States and subsequently arrives in Nepal, identifying that individual cannot depend simply on asking for a name or checking a passport. A modern investigation requires the careful verification of multiple pieces of information. Names can be similar, identities can be confused and documents can sometimes be fraudulent or misleading. Investigators may therefore need to compare information such as full name, date of birth, nationality, passport information, photographs, biometric identifiers and other legally available records. Where there is an appropriate legal basis, information can be communicated through established international law-enforcement cooperation mechanisms. INTERPOL provides one important framework through which member countries can exchange police information and cooperate in international criminal investigations. Nepal is an INTERPOL member country, and the National Central Bureau in Kathmandu plays a key role in facilitating international police cooperation. This means that the identification of a person who has crossed from one country to another does not necessarily stop at the international border; rather, the investigation can continue through established legal and institutional channels.
The same principle applies in the opposite direction. Suppose a person is suspected of committing a serious crime in Nepal and then leaves the country, eventually reaching the United States. The individual may believe that physical distance provides protection from the investigation, but international borders do not automatically erase criminal proceedings. Where the legal requirements are satisfied, Nepalese authorities can seek international cooperation through appropriate channels. Information can be shared with relevant foreign law-enforcement agencies, and international notices or requests may be issued according to applicable procedures. However, this process must be understood correctly. An INTERPOL Red Notice is not itself an international arrest warrant. It is a request to law-enforcement authorities to locate a person and, where national law permits, take appropriate provisional action pending extradition or another lawful process. The final decision regarding arrest, detention, extradition or related legal action belongs to the competent authorities and courts under the applicable law. This distinction is extremely important because effective crime control must operate alongside the principles of due process, presumption of innocence and judicial independence.
One of the most important elements in international criminal investigation is therefore accurate identity verification. A person cannot lawfully be identified as a criminal merely because his or her name resembles the name of someone being investigated abroad. Imagine a situation in which American authorities are searching for an individual named “Ram Kumar” and information suggests that the person may have travelled to Nepal. There may be hundreds of people with similar names. The investigation must therefore establish whether the person in Nepal is actually the same individual. This may require comparing date of birth, passport details, photographs, biometric information, nationality, travel records and authenticated law-enforcement or judicial documents. The principle is simple but extremely important: suspicion is not proof, an intelligence lead is not a conviction, and an identity match does not by itself establish guilt. Modern policing must be strong enough to identify genuine suspects while being disciplined enough to protect innocent people from false accusations.
This is where technology is transforming policing. Biometric identification, digital forensics, secure information systems, surveillance technology and artificial intelligence are increasingly becoming part of modern crime investigation. Fingerprints, facial images and other biometric identifiers can assist investigators in determining whether records associated with different names actually belong to the same individual. Digital evidence can help investigators reconstruct movements, communications and financial activity where such evidence is lawfully obtained. Artificial intelligence may help law-enforcement agencies process enormous quantities of information more rapidly than human investigators could do alone. But technology must remain a tool of investigation, not a substitute for evidence or judicial process. A facial-recognition system can make a mistake. A database can contain inaccurate information. An algorithm can produce a false match. Therefore, no individual should be treated as guilty merely because a computer system has identified a possible similarity. Technology should assist justice; it must never replace justice.
For Nepal Police, the challenge is particularly significant because modern crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The country must deal not only with conventional criminal activity but also with cybercrime, online financial fraud, organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, identity fraud, digital extortion and criminal networks that may operate across several countries simultaneously. A criminal organization may have one person operating in Nepal, another in the United States, another in the Gulf and another in Europe, while money, information and instructions move through digital networks. Such crimes cannot be effectively addressed through traditional policing alone. They require intelligence-led policing, professional investigation, digital forensic capacity, international cooperation and trained officers who understand both domestic law and the mechanisms of international law enforcement.
In this context, Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki has an important responsibility and an equally important opportunity. Nepal Police needs strong leadership at a time when public expectations for security, accountability and professional policing are extremely high. The effectiveness of police leadership should not be measured only by the number of arrests or the number of officers deployed. It should also be measured by the quality of investigations, the prevention of crime, the protection of citizens, the successful use of intelligence, the ability to identify organized criminal networks and the capacity to cooperate with international law-enforcement agencies. IGP Dan Bahadur Karki’s leadership comes at a time when Nepal Police must continue strengthening its professional capacity and adapting to a rapidly changing criminal environment. The organization needs to remain alert not only to crimes taking place on Nepalese streets but also to criminal activities that originate abroad or extend beyond Nepal’s borders.
The next generation of policing in Nepal must therefore move further toward intelligence-led policing. Police should not always have to wait for a crime to occur before beginning to understand the risks surrounding it. Criminal patterns, networks and emerging threats must be identified through lawful intelligence gathering and professional analysis. International information received through appropriate channels must reach the relevant investigators quickly. Specialized officers should be trained in international criminal cooperation, digital evidence, cyber investigations, financial investigations, forensic techniques, extradition-related procedures and INTERPOL mechanisms. Nepal also needs stronger coordination between relevant agencies so that legitimate security information can be used effectively while protecting citizens’ privacy and legal rights. A sophisticated police organization is not simply one that possesses large amounts of data; it is one that knows how to verify, interpret and lawfully use information.
The growing Nepali diaspora also creates a new dimension in this discussion. Nepalis living in the United States and other countries can become important partners in promoting public safety, but the public must understand the difference between reporting information and declaring someone guilty. If a member of a Nepali community has credible information regarding serious criminal activity, that information should be provided to the appropriate law-enforcement authorities. Social media should not become an alternative court system where accusations are made without evidence and individuals are publicly declared criminals before any proper investigation or judicial determination. A photograph, a Facebook post, a rumor or an anonymous message cannot replace evidence. Responsible citizens should report credible concerns to the proper authorities and allow trained investigators and courts to determine the facts.
Nepal–USA law-enforcement cooperation is therefore becoming increasingly important. The United States has a large and growing Nepali community, and people move between the two countries for education, employment, business, family, tourism and other purposes. The overwhelming majority of these people are law-abiding citizens who contribute positively to both societies. But legitimate international movement can also be exploited by individuals attempting to evade investigation. The answer is not to treat international travelers as suspects. The answer is to develop professional systems that can distinguish ordinary citizens from individuals who are legitimately wanted or being investigated for serious crimes. That requires accurate databases, secure information exchange, trained investigators and strong cooperation between competent authorities, all operating within the law.
The fundamental principle should be that crossing a border must not become a mechanism for escaping legitimate justice, but international cooperation must never become a mechanism for bypassing legal rights. These two principles must exist together. A person who commits a serious crime in Nepal should not automatically become beyond the reach of legitimate investigation simply because that person boards a flight to America. Similarly, a person who is legitimately sought in connection with a serious crime in the United States should not assume that arrival in Nepal automatically ends the legal process. At the same time, an allegation from another country cannot simply be accepted as proof of guilt. Every case requires verification, evidence and appropriate legal procedures.
This is the real test of modern policing. The strongest police organization is not the one that simply arrests the largest number of people. It is the organization that can distinguish truth from rumor, evidence from allegation, genuine suspects from innocent citizens and organized criminal networks from ordinary international travelers. It is the police organization that can cooperate internationally while respecting national sovereignty, human rights and the rule of law. It is the police organization that can use technology without becoming dependent on technology and can use intelligence without allowing intelligence to replace evidence.
Nepal stands at an important point in its policing journey. The country is increasingly connected to the rest of the world, and that connection brings enormous opportunities but also new security challenges. The same international networks that enable people to study, work, invest and build communities abroad can potentially be exploited by criminal networks. Nepal Police must therefore continue investing in forensic science, cybercrime investigation, biometric verification, intelligence analysis, international cooperation and specialized human resources. The future of policing will belong to organizations that can combine technology with professional judgment and international cooperation with strong legal safeguards.
IGP Dan Bahadur Karki’s leadership should therefore be viewed within this broader challenge of transforming Nepal Police for a new era of crime. The responsibility is not simply to respond to yesterday’s crimes but to prepare for tomorrow’s threats. Nepal Police must be capable of following evidence across districts, across provinces and, when legally appropriate, across international borders. It must strengthen its cooperation with international partners and make full and responsible use of established mechanisms for sharing criminal intelligence. It must also maintain the public trust that remains the foundation of effective policing. A police organization cannot successfully fight modern crime without the confidence and cooperation of the citizens it serves.
Ultimately, the central question is no longer simply “Where is the criminal?” The more important question is: “How can law enforcement accurately identify the person, verify the evidence, cooperate with the relevant country and bring the matter into the proper legal process, wherever that person may be?” That is the challenge facing Nepal, the United States and police organizations around the world.
Crime may cross borders. Criminal networks may operate across continents. Suspects may change locations, identities or methods. Technology may make crime faster and more sophisticated. But justice must remain grounded in evidence, law and due process. Nepal Police must therefore continue building a professional, technologically capable and internationally connected organization capable of meeting this new reality.
The world has changed, and crime has changed with it. Nepal’s response must change as well.
A criminal may cross a border in a few hours. The search for truth must never stop at the border.
— Hark Bahadur Tamrakar (HB Tamrakar)—Journalist | Chairman & Editor-in-Chief
The Ton News / TON Media Group
