In a world where borders are more porous than ever, the long arm of international law is reaching further and faster, as recent high-profile arrests across continents have shown. From the bustling streets of Puerto Vallarta to the terminals of Casablanca and the prisons of Albania, authorities—often in partnership with Interpol—are clamping down on suspects wanted for crimes ranging from financial fraud to terrorism and sexual abuse. The cases, each with their own dramatic twists, highlight both the growing sophistication of global law enforcement and the complex legal and human rights challenges that come with cross-border justice.
One of the most closely watched cases centers on Sheikh Sohel Rana, the former police inspector from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and patron of the controversial e-commerce company e-Orange. According to Prothom Alo, Sohel Rana has been languishing in an Albanian prison for nine months as of October 2025, fighting extradition to Bangladesh. The charges against him are staggering: he faces nine cases in Dhaka, including money laundering, embezzlement, and fraud involving a jaw-dropping Tk 11 billion (about $100 million USD). Interpol has been involved since 2022, when a red notice was issued at the request of Bangladesh’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), linking him directly to a high-profile money laundering case.
Sohel Rana’s story reads like a crime thriller. After his alleged crimes came to light, he fled Bangladesh on September 2, 2021, only to be arrested by India’s Border Security Force the very next day as he attempted to cross into Nepal. He was sentenced to two years in an Indian prison for illegal entry and fined 40,000 rupees. Claiming ill health, he secured bail in January 2024 from the Kolkata High Court and promptly vanished. His escape route took him through Portugal and finally to Albania, where authorities arrested him at Rinas Airport on February 1, 2025, based on the Interpol red notice.
But Rana’s legal maneuvers didn’t stop at flight. In Albania, he has sought political asylum, claiming to be a relative of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister, and insisting that he fled his homeland for political reasons. He argues that returning to Bangladesh could mean facing the death penalty, a claim he has pressed in Albanian courts. His lawyer, Edon Mexi, told MCN TV in Albania, “Under the European Convention on Human Rights, Albania cannot extradite a foreign national to a country where they may face the death penalty.” This legal argument has so far stalled Bangladesh’s repeated requests for his repatriation. Police headquarters spokesperson and Assistant Inspector General AHM Shahadat Hossain confirmed to Prothom Alo, “Sohel Rana is currently in prison in Albania. We have sent multiple letters to the National Central Bureau (NCB) of the Albanian police headquarters requesting his repatriation, but they have not responded.”
Bangladesh’s authorities have pushed back against Rana’s claims, informing Albanian officials that there is no murder case against him at Dhaka’s Gulshan police station, as he alleges. Instead, the focus remains on the massive fraud and money laundering charges. The CID has reportedly found evidence of illicit earnings amounting to Tk 3.58 billion (Tk 358 crore) and continues to investigate. Meanwhile, Rana’s family members have also been swept up in the scandal: his sister Sonia Mehjabin and brother-in-law Mashukur Rahman were arrested and later released on bail, while his wife Naznin Nahar remains at large.
While Rana’s legal drama unfolds in Eastern Europe, a very different case played out thousands of miles away in Morocco. On October 26, 2025, Moroccan police arrested a 34-year-old Russian citizen at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport. According to Moroccan security officials, the suspect—whose name has not been released—was flagged by an Interpol arrest warrant issued by Russia’s National Central Bureau in Moscow. He is wanted by Russian authorities on suspicion of involvement with a terrorist organization and was detained immediately after arriving on a flight from Mauritania.
Morocco’s National Central Bureau (Interpol Rabat) quickly notified Russian authorities, and the suspect now remains in police custody as extradition procedures are underway. The arrest is part of a broader trend: Morocco has seen a sharp increase in airport arrests linked to Interpol warrants throughout 2025, with suspects wanted for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to terrorism, sexual assault, and money laundering. In 2024 alone, Morocco processed over 6,800 international cooperation requests, with Spain and France accounting for a combined 65% of those cases. The country’s enhanced role in international law enforcement is underscored by its current position as Vice-President of Interpol for Africa, a post secured with the backing of 96 member states.
Just a day before the Casablanca arrest, another dramatic scene unfolded in Mexico. Local and Interpol authorities detained a man identified as José Luis “N.”, 47, near Plaza Galerías on Puerto Vallarta’s main avenue. According to Puerto Vallarta News, the suspect resisted arrest but was subdued and transferred to federal custody. He is wanted in the United States on rape and sexual abuse charges and faces an active extradition order. Authorities have not released his full name, but the arrest underscores the global reach of law enforcement cooperation—Interpol personnel worked alongside municipal officers to ensure the suspect could not slip away.
These cases, while vastly different in detail, are united by the thread of international cooperation—and the thorny legal and ethical questions that come with it. For instance, Sohel Rana’s attempt to block extradition on the grounds of potential capital punishment highlights the tension between national justice systems and international human rights standards. His lawyer’s invocation of the European Convention on Human Rights is not an isolated tactic; it’s a growing feature of cross-border justice, especially as more countries refuse to extradite suspects to jurisdictions where they may face the death penalty or torture.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s proactive stance in processing Interpol warrants demonstrates the increasing expectation that countries will not only police their own citizens but also act as gatekeepers for global justice. The country’s recent arrests of suspects wanted for everything from violent sexual assaults (such as a Swedish national in May) to drug trafficking (including a Turkish man detained at Germany’s request in August) underscore this point. As Moroccan prosecutors work through the legal procedures to extradite the Russian suspect, the world watches to see how efficiently—and fairly—these international cases are handled.
For those wanted by the law, the world is shrinking. The days when fugitives could easily disappear across borders are fast fading, replaced by a new era of rapid information sharing, coordinated operations, and complex legal battles. Whether it’s a disgraced police inspector seeking asylum in Albania, a terror suspect detained in Casablanca, or a fugitive facing abuse charges in Mexico, the message is clear: international justice is catching up, and the chase is only getting more sophisticated.
