Whatever larger policy questions exist about the international liaison program, in the case of Mr. Currie, the network proved critical to his capture.
Detectives in Manhattan have said they were sure Mr. Currie was involved with his son Mason’s death. The boy’s mother, Julia DeJesus Saldana, had given Mason to his father on Saturday afternoon for a two-day visit under a custody agreement, but Mr. Currie never dropped the 7-month-old off at his day care center on Monday, the police said.
The intelligence bureau at Police Headquarters, with help from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ran checks on Mr. Currie with Customs and Border Protection and learned he was flying to Bangkok, with a connection in Abu Dhabi.
Lt. John Miedreich, the commander of the international liaison program, contacted Detective Andy Kamarchevakul, the department’s liaison in Abu Dhabi, and sent him to meet Mr. Currie at the gate. But by the time the detective arrived at the airport, Mr. Currie had caught an earlier flight and was on his way to Thailand.
The lieutenant then called the department’s detective at Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France, Alain Di Nicola, and had him request a “blue notice,” an international alert asking the police in other countries for help locating someone wanted for questioning.
Lieutenant Miedreich then contacted Sergeant Lee in Singapore, where it was midnight, and ordered him to catch the next flight to Bangkok. In the meantime, Mr. Currie was detained at about 5 a.m. as he got off the flight from Abu Dhabi. The Royal Thai Police had seen Interpol’s blue notice and were holding him.
Three hours later, Sergeant Lee walked into a detention room at the airport and interviewed Mr. Currie. The sergeant, who had started his career as a beat cop in Queens, had a good working relationship with the Thai authorities. On Aug. 10, Mr. Currie was escorted back to New York and stood before a judge in Manhattan Criminal Court, charged with concealment of a corpse. He has pleaded not guilty, and denied any role in the boy’s death in a jailhouse interview with The Daily News. The city’s Medical Examiner has not yet determined what caused Mason’s death.
“Gathering as much information as you can and cultivating relationships with foreign police departments, it’s not really something anyone trains you on,” Sergeant Lee said. “There’s nothing specific that’s in the patrol guide.”
