Sixteen Namibians wanted by Interpol

NAMPA

2024-09-03

WINDHOEK - NamPol crime report logo. (Photo: NAMPA)

WINDHOEK, 03 SEP (NAMPA) – Sixteen Namibian nationals are listed as fugitives on the Interpol Red Notice, the Head of Interpol Namibia, Commissioner Mathew Shipanga revealed on Monday.
Among them are 10 people wanted in Namibia and six others wanted in Angola and South Africa.
Shipanga in an interview with Nampa on Monday said an additional 10 foreign nationals are also wanted by Namibian authorities. The suspects are charged with cases ranging from murder and attempted murder, to armed robbery, fraud, and corruption.
He said Namibia only managed to extradite six fugitives in the last five years, with the latest involving 52-year-old Maria Coetzee, who was extradited last Friday.
Coetzee, accused of fraud, faces 18 criminal charges after she allegedly defrauded the Windhoek International School of N.dollars 2.8 million while she headed the finance department in 2018. Coetzee is accused of having fled to South Africa when she failed to appear in the Windhoek High Court for a pre-trial hearing.
“The main mission of Interpol is to facilitate collaboration among police forces worldwide to combat and prevent international crime. This is achieved through the establishment of National Central Bureaus (NCBs) within the police force or service structure of each of the 196 Interpol member countries,” Shipanga said.
The NCBs, he explained, serve as Interpol’s liaison offices, playing a crucial role in coordinating cross-border investigations, operations, and the apprehension of fugitives.
“NCBs increasingly collaborate on a regional and international level, utilising Interpol’s I24/7 communication system. It’s important to recognise that the extradition process is costly, complex, cumbersome and lengthy,” Shipanga stressed.
The Namibian police, he noted has successfully carried out the extradition of foreigners both into and out of Namibia to Belarus and the United States of America.
(NAMPA)
EB/EK/AS

WINDHOEK, 29 August 2024 - Maria Coetzee, who stands accused of stealing N.dollars 2.8 million from the Windhoek International School, was extradited from South Africa on Thursday. Coetzee is pictured here upon her arrival at the Hosea Kutako International Airport. (Photo by: Eba Kandovazu) NAMPA

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