FBI Director Kash Patel has significantly stepped up direct contact with foreign law enforcement partners as part of a drive to bring international fugitives back to the United States, according to FBI data obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. The agency says the increased outreach has coincided with a sharp rise in extraditions and overseas captures, which it credits to closer diplomatic ties under the Trump administration and legal support from the Department of Justice.

Figures show Patel made 100 calls to international partners in his first 18 months in office, compared with just nine made by his predecessor, Christopher Wray, in the final 18 months of the Biden administration. Over the same comparative period, extraditions rose 65% and overseas apprehensions rose 54%, with the FBI recording 157 extraditions and 86 such transfers in total. Recent cases cited include the extradition of a Honduran fugitive wanted for a child's rape and murder, a Bangladeshi national accused of a major online child exploitation scheme, and a Texas man returned from Qatar on fraud charges.