Interpol Ecuador highlights cooperation with China in deportation case

Interpol Office in Ecuador on Saturday highlighted good cooperation with its Chinese counterparts in deporting a Red Notice fugitive back to China.

"This is the first 'red notice' case (involving a Chinese citizen in Ecuador). As soon as we received the information, we began our cooperation (with Chinese side) on this case," Wilson Cacuango, an officer from Interpol's National Office for Ecuador in Quito, told Xinhua during an interview.

The case involved Ni Qunyan, a Chinese citizen who was arrested on June 10 in Ecuador's capital city of Quito under an order from the National Court of Justice for extradition purposes.

Ni, owner of Zhejiang Sanmen Longyuan Garment Co. Ltd. in Zhejiang Province in China, was accused of tax invasion and put on a Red Notice list published by Interpol Beijing on Nov. 4, 2014.

Cacuango noted Interpol Quito kept communication with Interpol Beijing as well as the Chinese Embassy to Ecuador in the process.

The investigation and eventual arrest was not easy, he recalled, as Ni began to delete all traces that could help to locate her, including the closure of her RUC, or Single Taxpayer's Register, an identification number for tax-collecting purpose for all natural persons and corporations in Ecuador.

Ni was arrested in a case involving a false Ecuadorean identity card, in which she was eventually identified after her fingerprints was taken, according to Cacuango.

Ni had been in Ecuador for 14 years, where she is also wanted for other offenses, according to the Ecuadorean Interior Ministry.

After her arrest, Ni was sent to a detention center for women in the central city of Latacunga before she was taken before the National Court of Justice.

According to Ecuadorean law, she was freed after 40 days in detention before the deportation process began.

"She was then handed over to Chinese police and should be sentenced," said Cacuango, who just returned from a trip to China to hand over Ni to the Chinese side.

"It was very nice to share experiences with the police (in China) and they gave us information that helped here (in Ecuador) in other cases," said Cacuango, recalling his trip to China.

The need for an extradition treaty between the two countries became apparent after the case, he added. Endi