PARIS: French police said on Friday they were probing the disappearance of the Chinese head of Interpol, who has reportedly been detained for questioning in his home country.

Meng Hongwei, 64, was last seen leaving for China from the international police organisation’s headquarters in Lyon, southeast France, in late September, a source close to the inquiry said. His wife has since reported him missing.

“He did not disappear in France” where he lives, the source said. But Interpol would not be drawn on his possible whereabouts.

“We are aware of media reports in connection with the alleged disappearance of Interpol President Meng Hongwei. This is a matter for the relevant authorities in both France and China,” it said on Twitter. “Interpol will not comment further.”

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported that Meng was under investigation in China. He was “taken away” for questioning by the authorities “as soon as he landed in China” last week, the newspaper said, quoting an unidentified source.

It was not known why Meng was being investigated.

The French interior ministry said it was concerned about unspecified “threats” received by Meng’s wife, who has not heard from her husband since Sept 25.

Meng’s family has been placed under police protection following the “worrying disappearance”, the ministry said.

Before being elected head of Interpol in November 2016, Meng was vice minister of public security in China. He also ran the Chinese Interpol office.

The Post said Meng was listed on the website of China’s ministry of public security as a vice minister, but added that he lost his seat on its Communist Party Committee, the real decision-making body, in April.

He was the first Chinese leader of Interpol, which connects the law enforcement agencies of its 192 member countries. His term runs until 2020.

The transnational organisation does not have agents of its own with powers of arrest.

Critics suggested that Meng’s election gave Beijing a chance to enlist more international help in tracking down alleged economic cri­m­inals, including corrupt offi­cials, targeted by President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign.

But Interpol has in the past denied this, saying its head does not intervene in day-to-day operations, which are handled by Secretary-General Juer­gen Stock, a German.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2018