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LYON, France – At the 85th Interpol General Assembly in November 2016, Meng Hongwei donned the mantle of the head of the International Criminal Police Organization – creating history by becoming the first Chinese national to head the 95-year-old organization. 

Backed by four decades of experience in criminal justice and policing, Hongwei took over from his predecessor Mireille Ballestrazzi of France, with the promise of building a stronger platform for global police. 

Nearly two years after heading the International Criminal Police Organization, where he implemented his plans to promote effective coordination among regional and global police forces – the 64-year-old President of Interpol has mysterious disappeared. 

France to China: The vanishing act

On September 25, Hongwei departed to his native China, from the Interpol headquarters in Lyon.

For ten days since he left France, Hongwei maintained radio silence, making no contact with his family based in Lyon.

Then, on October 4, in a desperate attempt to locater the whereabouts of her husband, Hongwei’s wife approached the police in Lyon, to report the Interpol chief missing. 

The Interpol president’s wife and children told the police that they had not been able to contact him or locate his whereabouts over the last ten days.

A day later, after details of Hongwei’s missing report emerged in the media, the French police confirmed that the public prosecutor in Lyon was handling the case.

With all eyes on French law enforcement authorities, a senior French official told the media on Friday that authorities had still not ascertained whether Hongwei had reached China or disappeared before that. 

Meanwhile, amid growing pressure to reveal any knowledge the agency might possess in the case, Interpol issued a statement on Friday, which noted, “Interpol is aware of media reports in connection with the alleged disappearance of Interpol President Meng Hongwei. This is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China. Interpol’s General Secretariat headquarters will not comment further.”

However, with investigations wrapped under a veil of secrecy, and no proactive statement emerging from China – the disappearance of the official who hold a key policing role globally, has continued to boggle the world. 

Ironically, Hongwei leads the 192-member strong global policing agency, which issues international alerts over people reported missing or those that are wanted for unlawful activities. 

Whom did he offend? 

Despite his illustrious career fighting crime, Hongwei’s appointment as the Interpol president riled up several groups, including human rights campaigners.

At the time, several activists expressed shock over Hongwei’s appointing – owing to his close links with the Chinese government.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International voiced fears over China’s possible exploitation of Hongwei’s position to pursue dissidents abroad.

The worries stemmed from Hongwei’s previous stints, when he served as the Vice Minister for Public Security in China.

Before that, Hongwei has headed various government departments, including serving as the head of China’s counter-terrorism office, drugs control commission, and coast guard.  

He was also a former head of Interpol China. 

Hongwei, who is currently listed as a vice minister on the website of China’s Ministry of Public Security, reports have pointed out that in April this year, the Interpol President lost his seat on the country’s powerful Communist Party Committee.

Experts have pointed out that the clues to the Interpol President’s disappearance could possibly emerge from the circumstances in China, when Hongwei made his historic ascension in the agency in 2016.

At the time that Hongwei secured the top spot, a controversial corruption campaign championed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping was being aggressively implemented in China. 

The same year as his appointment, the crackdown in China saw more than a million officials being punished over suspected corruption.

Fiery French confrontation met with stony Chinese silence 

As the lack of clarity in the investigation continued to spark concerns internationally, and threatened to impact the credibility of the Interpol, the agency announced that it had called on China to clarify the status of the missing Interpol president.

On Saturday, Interpol released a statement, in which the agency’s Secretary-General Juergen Stock expressed concerns about the wellbeing of its president.

The Interpol statement, featured on the agency’s website and social media pages read, “Interpol has requested through official law enforcement channels clarification from China’s authorities on the status of Interpol President Meng Hongwei.”

Further, the agency reiterated, “Interpol’s General Secretariat looks forward to an official response from China’s authorities to address concerns over the president’s well-being.”

Interpol earlier pointed out that the agency’s Secretary-General oversees the day-to-day work of the 192-member organization and said that the role of the president is largely ceremonial.

As France continued its investigation, a report in the South China Morning Post quoted a credible source as revealing that Hongwei arrived in China last month, but was “taken away” for questioning by Chinese authorities upon arrival. 

However, the report did not comment on why Hongwei was being investigated or what his current whereabouts are.

Subsequently, the Hong Kong-based newspaper revealed that the Interpol head was being investigated by China’s “discipline authorities.” 

Meanwhile, later on Saturday, the Interior Ministry of France released details in the case that caused further alarm. 

According to the ministry’s announcement, Meng’s wife had received threatening phone calls and social media messages, when her husband set out on his trip and many more over the days that followed.

The Interior Ministry further revealed that the Interpol President’s wife and children had now being placed under special protection by the French Police, as investigations in the bizarre case continue.