Brazil to Receive Passenger Lists 72 Hours in Advance During Olympics
The Federal Police is to receive passenger lists from international flights headed to Brazil 72 hours in advance, even during the Olympics, according to the chief of Interpol in Brazil, Valdecyr Urquiza Júnior, who also acts as police commissioner of the Federal Police.
During the inauguration of the Federal Police's international Police Cooperation Center, which will operate during the Olympics and the Paralympics, the police commissioner said the agreement was reached with Interpol and the new protocol should be in effect "throughout the Games".
The names of the passengers will be screened against an international list of 3,000 individuals suspected of terrorism and another 44,000 accused of crimes of a different nature.
Currently, passenger names are sent to Brazil when the aircraft initiates take off procedures.
By allowing a longer period for prescreening, the Federal Police even expects to be able to keep a passenger from boarding the plane to Brazil through previous communication with the country of origin.
At the inauguration of the IPCC (International Police Cooperation Center), a room with screens and computers at the Regional Superintendent of the Federal Police in Brasília, the minister of Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, and the Director-General of the Federal Police, Leandro Daiello, said the system of international cooperation set up by Brazil for the Olympics is the largest in the history of the country and Interpol.
The Rio Games will see 250 police officers from 55 countries working alongside Brazilian Federal Police officers, who will be working 24 hours a day to screen and crosscheck information on foreign citizens who are in Brazil or preparing to arrive in Brazil.
At the Olympics, there will be 62 foreign police officers in Brasília and 101 in Rio de Janeiro. The rest of the officers will arrive in Brazil for the Paralympics.
The foreign police officers engage in the system by checking the names of their countrymen directly against the data bank of their countries of origin.
The minister of Justice also said that a new system was also set up to conduct fingerprint collection and screening for all passengers landing in Brazil. The fingerprints are collected through a device the moment the passenger is in the waiting line for immigration at the airport.
In addition to screening passenger names, documentation and fingerprints, the chief of Interpol added that the Federal Police system also utilizes facial recognition technology. The images are collected at various checkpoints, such as airports and sporting arenas.
Another IPCC (International Police Cooperation Center) will be inaugurated on Tuesday (2) in Rio de Janeiro.
Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ