Toledo, Spain-Drug-smuggling routes stretching from Latin America to European ports, fraudulent operations targeting victims on other continents, and the infiltration of legitimate businesses by criminal groups pose growing challenges in the European region.

In response to these and other criminal threats, Interpol's regional meetings bring together more than 140 senior police officers from Europe and beyond.

During the two-day conference (May 20-21), delegates will explore how criminal networks increasingly exploit the growing threat posed by digital platforms, crime-as-a-service ecosystems and industrial-scale fraud hubs, fuelling unprecedented levels of cyber fraud and financial crime.

The Secretary of State for Security of Spain, Ina Calvo-Sastre, said:

"It is a great honor to host this event in Spain, a country that promotes international police cooperation and recognizes the strategic value of Interpol and its professionals who work daily to ensure the safety of millions of people.

"At a time when globalization is creating new opportunities for transnational crime, strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation is essential to address common threats such as cybercrime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration networks and hate crimes."

Interpol President Lucas Philippe said:

"Interpol's strength is that it translates diverse systems and perspectives into a shared language of action for global policing.

"These two days can't just be diagnostic. They have to be a space for action-a space where we consolidate a cooperative response, a common language of action that reinforces the real strength of Interpol for more than a century."

Ina Calvo Sastre, Secretary of State for Security of Spain.

Waldsi Urjisa, Secretary General of Interpol.

The president of Interpol, Lucas Philippe.

Francisco Pardo Picras, General Director of the Spanish National Police.

The 53rd Interpol European Regional Conference is being held in Toledo, Spain.

The 53rd Interpol European Regional Conference is being held in Toledo, Spain.

The 53rd Interpol European Regional Conference is being held in Toledo, Spain.

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Crimes without borders and invisible threats

Interpol Secretary General Valdessa Urjisa said:

"Today's most dangerous criminal infrastructure is borderless and invisible, able to operate anywhere in the world day or night.

"International crime has local consequences, and we see national and regional policing at its strongest with increased global intelligence, capacity and connectivity. And here, Europe is leading by example, translating international policing cooperation into operational results."

Drug trafficking and illicit financial flows

The conference will discuss developments in drug smuggling in Europe, such as rerouting and the growing use of deep-water maritime corridors by organized crime gangs.

Delegates will learn how tools such as INTERPOL's Global Rapid Intervention Payment Mechanism (I-GRIP) and Silver Notices can help Member States identify, trace and recover assets linked to criminal activity.

New operational responses will also be explored in the coming days to detect and disrupt human trafficking networks.

International cooperation solves 25-year-old unsolved case

The meeting comes at an important time for international police cooperation after the body of a 16-year-old girl was found in the Main River in Frankfurt, Germany in 2001.

This case is the sixth to successfully identify Recognize Me, an international campaign coordinated by Interpol and in cooperation with the authorities of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

The initiative aims to identify the bodies of 47 women found across Europe in recent decades and to promote investigations into the background of their deaths.