Interpol’s global police beat moves to metaverse amid hunt for Terra’s Do Kwon

The international police organization Interpol has launched its own metaverse to assist law enforcement in protecting communities in virtual realms. The development comes after wanted Terraform Labs cofounder Do Kwon quietly slipped from Singapore to Dubai and possibly elsewhere.

See related article: India police launch blockchain-based complaint portal on Polygon 

Fast facts

• Interpol claims theirs is the “first ever metaverse specifically designed for law enforcement worldwide” and is “fully operational” as of its launch at the 90th Interpol General Assembly in New Delhi on Thursday. 

• “The possibilities are endless,” Interpol announced in a promotional video featuring potential uses including virtual immigration and border control checkpoint, a crime scene training school and a rendering of Interpol’s General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, which delegates in New Delhi were able to enter virtually. 

• Interpol also announced it would be establishing what it called an Expert Group on the Metaverse to “represent the concerns of law enforcement on the global stage — ensuring this new virtual world is secure by design.”

• Interpol is not the first police force to integrate Web3 technology into its operations; Indian police in Firozabad launched an online complaint portal powered by Ethereum scaler Polygon earlier this month. 
• Interpol’s venture into Web3, which includes aims to enhance border control, follows its long-running search for Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon, issuing a red notice against him requesting global law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest him. Do Kwon has denied allegations from South Korean prosecutors that he is “obviously on the run” while traveling from South Korea to Singapore, Dubai and possibly other locations.

See related article: Terra CEO Do Kwon, wanted in South Korea, left Singapore and flew to parts unknown via Dubai