D
F
I
fedpol 2022

No end to a hard day’s work for a mafia investigator

A scene from the life of mafia investigator Umberto*. In 2022, a phone call brings an end to Umberto’s plans to spend a pleasant summer evening on his balcony. However, Umberto’s wealth of experience and commitment to his work eventually lead to the arrest of a mafioso.

Friday evening in the summer of 2022. The sun, still warm, shone on Umberto’s balcony. He was about to enjoy a dinner of tomato and mozzarella salad and some nice bread. His favourite playlist could be heard from the living room. Umberto was ready to put a busy week behind him, after dealing with countless new developments in the cases he was working on. Umberto’s work as a team leader with fedpol’s Federal Criminal Police included investigating suspected mafia members.

Umberto closed his eyes, enjoying the sun and letting the week's stress ebb away. All of a sudden the phone rang. The caller was a colleague from the Italian police. He was about to leave on vacation, but had to coordinate the arrest of several suspected Mafia members at short notice. They were believed to be responsible for a murder committed years ago. One of the suspects was living in Switzerland. It was imperative that the suspects in Italy and Switzerland be arrested at the same time: in Mafia cases, this is the only way to prevent collusion, advance warning or the disappearance of evidence. The arrests were scheduled for the following Wednesday, early in the morning at 5:30. Umberto ran from the balcony back to the kitchen, put his salad in the fridge and closed the balcony door to be sure the conversation was private.

Before the arrest could be carried out, the Italian colleagues had to attend to all the necessary formalities. Only once these were complete and met the requirements of Swiss law could the arrest warrant for the purpose of extradition issued by the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) be issued to the competent authorities. Umberto helped the Italians with the formalities and put the operation in Switzerland on track. For Umberto, this could have been the end of the matter - but things turned out differently.

Fedpol’s role in dealing with requests for mutual legal assistance from abroad

International mutual legal assistance in criminal matters is judicial cross-border cooperation in support of criminal proceedings in Switzerland or abroad. Judicial cooperation is a formal procedure whereby a foreign law enforcement authority submits a request to the FOJ, which examines the formal aspects and the legality of the request for mutual legal assistance (or, request for extradition), and its conformity with Swiss legislation. Once the request passes the FOJ inspection, it is passed on to the competent cantonal prosecution authority. fedpol's role is limited to supporting the cross-border cooperation of police authorities that is required for the implementation of the request.

fedpol is generally the contact and coordination point for international operational police work. Among other things, fedpol :

  • coordinates intercantonal and international investigative procedures

  • provides partner authorities with cooperation tools around the clock

  • maintains a close exchange of information with law enforcement authorities in Switzerland and abroad

  • forms interdisciplinary investigative teams as needed. 

fedpol’s international and national networks allow it to quickly establish the right connections, even at the eleventh hour.

The tasks of fedpol are governed in the Federal Act on the Central Offices of the Federal Criminal Police and Joint Centres for Cooperation with Other States on Policing and Customs Matters (FCPCOA) (Act available in German, French and Italian).

Things didn’t go as planned

That same weekend Umberto realised that the personal details of the suspect in Switzerland were not correct. Had the warrant been forwarded to the wrong canton? Had Italy provided inaccurate information? A precise answer was needed, and fast. At worst, the arrest would fall through. Umberto got in touch with his Italian colleagues again, and by Monday everything was sorted: they were ready to go.

The Italians were ready to move ahead with the arrests as planned. But in Switzerland, time was running out very quickly. The operation had to be planned, with background checks, personnel were needed for the intervention units, etc. The order had come in at too short notice. Umberto couldn’t believe it. In his experience, the suspect would find out about the arrests in Italy within minutes, go into hiding and possibly never be caught. He just couldn’t allow that to happen! He picked up the phone and used the contacts he had built up over decades in the cantons. Umberto discussed other options with his contacts in the cantonal police. None of them was entirely certain, but with a bit of luck, the suspect could still be arrested.

Wednesday morning, shortly after 5:30, somewhere in Switzerland, a resident in an apartment building, inconspicuous for years, steps out into the cool morning air. On his way to his car, he encounters two regular-looking guys who are actually detectives from the cantonal police, waiting for exactly this situation. "Good morning. Police. You need to come with us." A few days later, the man is extradited.

*Name has been changed

Further articles on serious crime