In a first such move, the Punjab Police are in the process of getting silver notices issued from the Interpol to freeze moveable and immoveable assets of gangsters living abroad.The police had recently prepared a list of 61 “most active” gangsters behind extortion threats from abroad, attacks on rival gangsters or targeted killing of politicians/important individuals in the state.Extradition proceedings against 38 of them are already underway, DGP Gaurav Yadav had announced last week. The Bureau of Investigation (BOI) of the Punjab Police is handling this process.ADGP LK Yadav, Director-BOI, told The Tribune that Interpol started issuing silver notices — a color-coded alert designed to help member countries trace, identify, monitor, and recover criminal assets linked to serious offences such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking and organised crime — in January 2025.Unlike a red notice, which seeks the arrest of individuals, a silver notice focuses on locating laundered proceeds, including properties, vehicles, bank accounts, and businesses. This enables the global organisation to freeze and seize assets, hitting criminals where it hurts the most — their finances.The first silver notice was issued on January 10, 2025, at the request of Italian authorities to seize assets of a senior mafia figure. By mid-2025, over 50 such notices were issued during the pilot phase, which was set to run until November 2025, before its full implementation.“Just as assets of criminal elements can be seized in India under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act or Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, such accounts can be frozen abroad through a silver notice. It’s a potent tool to block their financial power and network,” said ADGP LK Yadav.The police will approach countries through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s nodal agency for Interpol matters, to facilitate the issuance of these notices and subsequent freeze of asset.The state police have launched an offensive against criminals under the “Gangstran Te Vaar” initiative. In the first phase of “Operation Prahar”, a 72-hour crackdown initiated on January 20, safe houses, weapons supply chains, and communication networks linked to 61 foreign-based gangsters were targeted, leading to over 3,256 arrests.During Operation Prahar 2.0 launched on February 9, thousands of individuals have been arrested and 128 weapons recovered. A dedicated Anti-Gangster Task Force police station with statewide jurisdiction has also been set up in Rajpura.DGP Yadav has declared 2026 the “Year against gangsters”. “We will not leave any space for gangsters. Their entire network will be eliminated,” Yadav said, as he vowed to thwart conspiracies by Pakistan military and Inter-Services Intelligence to fuel unrest by arming gangs.Since the launch of the campaign, the police have conducted nearly 17,000 raids and arrested more than 9,000 individuals.How silver notice worksUnlike Interpol red corner notice that seeks arrest of individuals, silver notice allows member countries to trace and seize overseas criminal assets linked to fraud, corruption, drug trafficking and organised crime
