Morgan Schreurs, a Dutch national, suspected of the murder of a woman in November 1999 was arrested on the 22nd June 2012.
This was as a result of an Interpol operation (Operation Infra Red) assisted by Irish Media beginning on 19th June 2012.
As a result of him being highlighted in media, a number of members of the public came forward to confirm that the suspect resided in Ireland for a number of years before moving residence to Croatia. Schreurs has evaded capture for 13 years and Irelands input into this operation resulted in his arrest.
When this information came to light on 20th June, Gardaí liaised directly through Interpol with their Croatian counterparts who confirmed the location of Schuers in the sea-side town of Rovinj. Local police secured his arrest on 22nd June 2012 based on confirmation from Belgium that he was sought on European Arrest Warrant.
During this media phase of the operation only twenty-five targets were prioritized for international media coverage. Schreurs is the only one of this twenty five that was believed to be linked to Ireland and is also the first of the twenty-five to have been positively located and arrested.
Staff at INTERPOL’s General Secretariat are highlighting this case as one of the major successes of the operation which highlights serious cases involving such crimes as murder, child sexual abuse, rape, fraud, corruption, drug trafficking and money-laundering. The Head of INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support (FIS) Unit, Stefano Carvelli said "This is a perfect demonstration of what can be achieved through cooperation between the public and police and I would like to congratulate all those involved, Belgium for including him in the operation, the person who provided the tip-off and the officers in Ireland and Croatia who made sure this information was acted upon rapidly. This case also serves as a warning to other fugitives that no matter how long it takes, INTERPOL and its member countries will continue our efforts in finding them and bringing them to justice”.
Operation INFRA-RED 2012 officially began on 14th May and will run until 20th July 2012. Over 500 high-profile criminals from 57 countries across the globe have been targeted by participating countries. An Garda Siochana has played a significant role in this operation to date with twenty targets included on this list.
To date, two of these have been arrested and are pending extradition with another four positively located. This is Ireland’s third time being actively involved in INTERPOL’s "INFRA” Operations which stands for ‘International Fugitive Round-up and Arrest’. These operations began in 2010 and have helped to secure the location and arrest of some of world’s most wanted criminals.
