By Frances Harrison BBC correspondent in Colombo

More than 100 police chiefs and senior law enforcers from Asia and the Middle East have gathered in the Sri Lankan capital to improve international co-operation in the fight against crime.

The conference is organised by Interpol, the global police body, which says it handled nearly three million messages last year alone concerning cross-border crime.

Policemen from 32 countries in Asia have come to Colombo to discuss better ways of exchanging information on issues like seizures of nuclear material, arms trafficking, money laundering and forged travel documents.

In particular, this conference will concentrate on the need to exploit technological advances faster than the criminals, for example looking at how the internet can be used to combat child pornography.

There will also be much discussion of the problem of trafficking in human beings throughout Asia.

Enhanced role

This is something that is particularly relevant to the host country Sri Lanka, which sees many of its citizens paying professional smugglers to transport them on small fishing boats all the way to Europe in search of a better life.