In the tranquil suburb of Tanglin, not far from the US Embassy and British High Commission, lies a facility that feels more like a sci-fi set than a police station. This is Interpol’s Innovation Centre — a place where robot dogs, underwater drones, and 3D-printed ghost guns are part of daily operations. As detailed in a recent Financial Times feature, the Singapore-based lab is on the front lines of a new global arms race — one between increasingly tech-savvy criminals and the world’s most advanced law enforcement teams.
Inside the centre, rows of sleek underwater drones and brightly coloured 3D-printed firearms sit on display, alongside a robodog named “Inno,” built for hazardous missions. It’s here that police experts from nearly 200 countries come together to track the evolution of organized crime and design new methods to combat it.
While it may seem futuristic, the threat is very real. In just the past year, Interpol used its 24-hour monitoring system — one of three global coordination hubs — to help capture 215 fugitives crossing international borders. Among them was Mohamed Amra, known as “The Fly,” France’s most wanted man, who was caught in Romania following a massive international manhunt.
The Singapore office, second only in size to Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France, was opened in 2015 to confront emerging digital threats. Since then, it has become a global command centre for cybercrime, forensic science, and cutting-edge policing technology.
Fighting Fire with Fire
According to the Financial Times, the rise of artificial intelligence has revolutionized crime, pushing police forces to adapt at lightning speed. “The changes in criminality we have seen over the last two to three years because of advances in technology are bigger than at any point in my career,” said Fabio Bruno, head of Interpol’s digital forensics team.
Bruno and his multinational colleagues are experts at data extraction. Using specialized tools, they dissect broken mobile phones, recover messages from car infotainment systems, and use Faraday rooms — which block electromagnetic signals — to prevent evidence from being remotely erased. “We cannot take that risk,” said Bahraini investigator Abdulla al-Jalahma.
Their tools also include 3D laser scanners that virtually reconstruct crime scenes. These high-precision devices reduce contamination, provide more accurate trajectory mapping, and offer juries an immersive view of the evidence.
From Romance Scams to Ghost Guns
Cybercrime is the fastest-growing threat Interpol is tackling. At any given time, their cyber command centre tracks millions of attempted attacks. On the day of the Financial Times visit, more than 3.5 million were underway — many using AI-generated scams, deepfake content, and phishing techniques. South-East Asia, in particular, has emerged as a hotspot for romance-baiting fraud, where victims are lured into fake relationships and convinced to part with their savings.
In the physical world, the rise of ghost guns — untraceable, 3D-printed firearms — has posed a new challenge. The weapons, often lacking serial numbers, are being increasingly used in crimes worldwide. Interpol’s lab manufactures similar firearms in-house for research, studying microscopic printer patterns in hopes of tracing their origins. But the arms race is relentless. “They are clearly learning from us just like we are studying them,” Bruno admitted.
Robodogs and Submersible Surveillance
Back on display in the lab is “Inno,” a robodog capable of running 12km/h, leaping over a metre high, and navigating stairs. Packed with sensors, it’s used in high-risk situations such as hostage negotiations or chemical hazard zones. Underwater, Interpol’s submersible drones detect smuggling operations where contraband is hidden beneath ships — a tactic known as parasite smuggling.
From drug runners in Brazil to malware attacks in Eastern Europe, the threats are global, and Interpol’s response must be just as expansive. Its 19 centralised databases — accessed 7.4 billion times in 2023 — track everything from stolen art to maritime piracy and criminal assets.
Founded over a century ago, Interpol now represents 196 member countries, bridging geopolitical divides to combat increasingly borderless crime. As Financial Times reports, the innovation centre in Singapore is not just a research lab — it’s the nerve centre of global law enforcement’s technological evolution.
With the line between science fiction and real-world policing continuing to blur, one thing is clear: in the fight against AI-enhanced crime, staying one step ahead is no longer optional — it’s existential.
