Death Train

Prologue

On an undisclosed date in September 1979 the Secretary-General of the United Nations chaired an extraordinary meeting attended by forty-six special envoys who, between them, represented virtually every country in the world. There was only one point on the agenda: the escalating tide of international crime. Criminals and terrorists were able to strike in one country then flee to another but national police forces were prevented from crossing international boundaries without breaching the protocol and sovereignty of other countries. Furthermore, the red tape involved in drafting extradition warrants (for those countries who at least had them) was both costly and time-consuming and many an unscrupulous lawyer had found loopholes in them, resulting in their clients being released unconditionally. A solution had to be found.

It was agreed to set up an international strike force to operate under the aegis of the United Nations’ Security Council. It would be known as the United Nations Anti-Crime Organization (UNACO). Its objective was to ‘avert, neutralize, and/or apprehend individuals or groups engaged in international criminal activities.’^* Each of the forty-six envoys was then requested to submit one detailed curriculum vitae of a candidate its government considered to be suitable for the position of UNACO Director, with the Secretary-General making the final choice.

UNACO’s clandestine existence came into being on 1 March, 1980.

_{*UNACO charter, article 1, paragraph 1c}