Surrey man arrested during traffic stop found wanted by INTERPOL for murder

Surrey Police arrested Amritpal Singh Bath on Oct. 8 after a routine traffic stop in Whalley revealed he was wanted on an INTERPOL Red Notice for homicide abroad.

Surrey traffic stop exposes fugitive wanted by INTERPOL for homicide

A foreign national wanted internationally for murder was arrested in Surrey's Whalley neighbourhood on Oct. 8, vancouver.citynews.ca reports, after a routine traffic stop unravelled a false identity and an active INTERPOL Red Notice.

An officer with the Surrey Police Service (SPS) pulled over a car at around 8:20 p.m. after observing it being driven erratically, according to SPS media liaison Ian MacDonald. The officer initially suspected impairment, but the stop took a different turn when a passenger produced identification in the name of Harpreet Singh.

"The ID did not look genuine, and it caused our officer to probe additionally and ultimately found out that the individual's name was Amritpal Singh Bath," MacDonald said.

A search of Bath's name in the police database confirmed he was the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice — an international request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to provisionally arrest an individual — linked to a homicide warrant issued in another country.

"At roadside, he detained the individual, made contact with CBSA [Canadian Border Services Agency] and confirmed that there was a Red Notice via INTERPOL for an arrest warrant related to a homicide in another country," MacDonald said.

Bath was turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency, which took him into custody. MacDonald said authorities had not previously known Bath was in Canada, and it remained unclear whether the driver of the vehicle was aware the passenger was a wanted person.

"He took custody of that individual, ultimately turned him over to CBSA, and effectively took somebody who was not just a danger potentially to Canadian citizens, but already a danger internationally off the streets of Surrey," MacDonald said.

INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization and the world's largest international police body, issues Red Notices at the request of member countries. MacDonald described the significance of such a notice in plain terms.

"For INTERPOL to put a notice, basically a warrant, worldwide, that someone is a danger and a risk, it is a pretty big deal," he said.

The SPS confirmed Bath remains in CBSA custody.

Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)