Bogus Passports Pose Problem

Stolen blank passports in the hundreds of thousands, along with millions of other virgin documents, allow known terrorists to breeze across borders, Interpol officials said.

Ronald Noble, Interpol's secretary general, told The Associated Press that only 34 countries of 181 members have agreed to share their data. But, together, they report 80,000 missing passports.

"This is only what's on file," Noble said. "You can imagine the rest. If we don't have a global database with everyone contributing, think of all the terrorists and criminals trading in documents."

By multiplying the 34 members' lists of stolen virgin passports by a factor of five, Noble said, the number reaches 400,000.

Although he did not single out countries, other Interpol officials said that the United States, Britain and Germany were among Interpol members that did not share their databases.

All members are able to consult the list even if they do not contribute information to it.

Although many more passports are filched from travelers around the world, the blanks allow terrorists and criminals to insert their own photographs, physical descriptions and names of choice.

Unless the numbers appear in a worldwide computerized database so that border police can identify them, anyone can use a custom-made blank to move undetected.

When Italy recently decided to cooperate, authorities sent Interpol the numbers of 200,000 missing travel documents. Within two days, Noble said, police in other countries had made arrests.

A senior Interpol official said he expected Washington to soon begin supplying data to the list. U.S. Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo, reached by telephone, had no immediate comment.

Besides passports, stolen documents include other permits and certificates that allow suspect travelers to obtain visas or establish false identities.

"These are all numbered documents so you don't have to worry about false positives, translations or Arabic names that are so hard to match," Noble said. "All anyone has to do is punch in a number."

Even with improved security methods, stolen documents are common across the world.

Since many countries still send passport blanks to small embassies and consulates in distant capitals, thieves need only to break in and crack what are often simple safes.

In some cases, corrupt officials sell the documents in bulk. One South American country that Noble would not name admitted to 50,000 missing documents.

Buyers are frequently criminal organizations that sell documents to anyone willing to pay, or to terrorist groups that use them for their own covert activities.

"Criminals and terrorists know how law enforcement works," Noble said. "If they steal a credit card, they blow it out in two days and then dump it before they are caught. It has a number."

With travel documents, he said, the practice was similar. Terrorists might risk quickly crossing a border once or twice with a stolen valid passport. But they won't keep it long.

Noble, 47, has been secretary-general since 2000, the first American in the job. He is on the law faculty of New York University and was chief law enforcement officer in the Department of Treasury.

According to international security specialists, Washington's reluctance to supply data to Interpol reflects a broader problem faced by the world's largest cross-border police organization.

Interpol officials who speak on the condition of anonymity often complain bitterly that the United States, among others, accepts all information but refuses to share crucial data in return.

U.S. authorities acknowledge a general policy of caution, saying that Interpol's worldwide membership leaves too many potential security gaps.

But, Noble argues, the picture has changed since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in America.

"Law enforcement agencies are always going to keep some things from everyone else," he said. "But the U.S. is sending many more Red Notices (fugitive alerts), and they tell us much more than before."

He added, "If a country lets you know that a certain person is known and wanted, how much more do they have to tell you?"

At the same time, Noble admitted that such databases as the stolen-passport list suffer when large countries do not take part. In the end, he said, it is in everyone's interest.

Some factors will prevent complete cooperation, Interpol officials said. If a country loses a large number of documents, authorities may be embarrassed to say so. Or they may cover a theft.

But world powers with access to wide-ranging intelligence are better off sharing it, Noble argues.

"The best security for your own passports is to warn others when they disappear," he said. "U.N. and world leaders should commit themselves to reporting passports as soon as they're stolen."

When chasing lawbreakers, Noble says, it does not matter whether information comes from friends or foes, as long as it results in capture.

He laughs at the mention of a wanted poster near the computer center. Under the photo of a gaunt bearded man identified as Osama bin Laden, it warns: subject might be violent and dangerous.

Noble loves to point out that the first international warning to capture bin Laden came not from a Western power but rather from Libya, at the time a stalwart member of the axis of evil.

By Mort Rosenblum