Latest news with #WildlifeJusticeCommission
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Police discover shocking cargo after stopping man suspected to be part of international smuggling ring — here's what they found
A rescue was made in the nick of time when Thai police apprehended a wildlife smuggler in Bangkok, saving two infant orangutans from being sold on the black market. After being apprehended at a gas station, the man was discovered hiding the orangutans in a plastic bike basket, the South China Morning Post reported. The orangutans — named Christopher and Stefan, who were one-year-old and one-month-old, respectively — had been placed into the basket in diapers on top of a piece of cardboard. The 47-year-old suspect told police he had been hired to transport the apes and hand them off to a customer, though he didn't share how much he had been paid to do so. The police stated that they believe the orangutans were meant to have been sold for approximately 300,000 baht each — around $9,000. The arrest was a result of a joint investigation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Netherlands, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the police statement said. The man is suspected of being part of a large, international wildlife trafficking network, which police are now investigating further. They charged the suspect with "illegal possession of protected wildlife" under Thai law, which could mean up to four years in prison. Wildlife trafficking is a persistent and huge problem for authorities. According to Homeland Security Investigations, wildlife trafficking — including fisheries and timber — is the fourth largest global illegal trade, with billions of dollars passing through criminal networks each year. Not only do millions of animals suffer unnecessary cruelty because of it, but the human populations responsible for the trade suffer, too. The removal — or worse, the eradication — of any species is automatically harmful to its native ecosystem, disturbing the carefully balanced web of biodiversity that maintains its functions. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The ripple effects can impact everything from the availability of food and water to the economic stability of a region. After all, animal losses can deplete hunting and fishing stocks that are necessary for local communities, as well as threaten the wildlife that brings in vital tourism dollars. In a time when the health and survival of many species are already being threatened by habitat loss, dredging and overfishing, and deforestation, the addition of poaching and trafficking only makes matters worse. Orangutans, for example, are already classified as critically endangered, yet they are one of the most trafficked primates in the world. Thailand is one of the world's major transit hubs for wildlife trafficking, connecting a black market network among China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Many government agencies and nonprofit groups are working to fight the wildlife trafficking trade on several fronts, from increasing on-site security and checkpoints — even using giant rats — to disincentivizing the market for illegally trafficked goods. One major NGO in the space, TRAFFIC, describes its approach as aiming to "reduce illegal and unsustainable trade of wild species and increase the social, economic, and environmental benefits to people derived from legal and sustainable trade." As a consumer, if you suspect wildlife trafficking in any form, you can find your country or region's monitoring agency to report it. (In the U.S., HSI has a tip line as well as an online form.) Similarly, be sure to engage in only verified and ethical wildlife tourism experiences when you travel, and stay away from buying exotic pets and goods. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Daily Maverick
18-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
Millions of pangolins, 193,000 elephants — how crime networks are hollowing out Africa's wilderness
A new investigative report has laid bare the scale and complexity of wildlife trafficking across southern Africa, exposing a tangled web of corruption, organised crime and systemic failures that are eroding conservation efforts and fuelling illicit markets. Disruption and Disarray: An analysis of pangolin scale and ivory trafficking, 2015-2024 by the Wildlife Justice Commission is one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of how legal loopholes, political interference and institutional weakness have allowed the illegal trade in endangered species to flourish. The numbers beggar belief. There are big pangolins and small pangolins – eight species in all. Averaging out, a single pangolin carries between 500 and 600 grams of protective scales. To make up a tonne requires the slaughter of more than 1,800 pangolins. In 2019 alone global seizure of pangolin scales was more than 100,000 tonnes. That's one year. The report estimates that seizures equal only 10% of totals trafficked. We are talking about millions of dead pangolins. In darkened shipping containers, concealed under layers of timber or hidden within sacks of cashew nuts, the scales of trafficked pangolins and the tusks from butchered elephants crossed oceans, driven by relentless demand. The report paints a complex picture of wildlife trafficking from Africa to Asia between 2015 and 2024 – before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Pangolins gained unfortunate notoriety as one of the most heavily trafficked wild mammals in the world when illegal trade in their scales became a global issue about 10 years ago. There are eight recognised species of pangolin, four found in Asia and four in Africa. During the 2010s vast quantities of African pangolin scales began to be smuggled to service a booming demand in Asia. In 2019, two record-breaking pangolin scale shipments were seized just days apart in Singapore, totalling more than 25 tonnes, while three record-breaking ivory seizures were made in Vietnam, Singapore and China, also amounting to more than 25 tonnes. Rapid growth in the average shipment size pointed to the involvement of organised crime networks operating at an industrial scale with significant financial capital, business infrastructure and corrupt connections to move large shipments across continents with such frequency. At the same time, 2019 also saw one of the largest volumes of elephant ivory yet seized from illegal trade, reported to be about 50 metric tonnes. This century poaching has reduced the global elephant population by about 30%. Between 2015 and 2024, says the report, more than 193 tonnes of elephant ivory were seized, representing 19,300 elephants. If that equals 10%, the total number of dead elephants would be 193,000, nearly half of Africa's total population. China's own crackdown on wildlife trafficking intensified during the pandemic. In 2020, Chinese authorities made several high-profile arrests and introduced tougher penalties for wildlife crimes, particularly for species implicated in zoonotic disease transmission. This contributed to a decline in major ivory and pangolin scale seizures within China itself. The total $176.1-million in estimated lost revenue over the decade hints at how much profit the criminal networks must have been generating from successful imports and sales to buyers for it to be worth the risk and continue to be an attractive business venture. Although it is not known what proportion of actual illegal trade is represented by seizures, if a seizure rate of 10% is assumed, then the revenue generated from successful shipments across the 10 years could potentially be as high as $1.58-billion. Criminal networks During recent years, the Wildlife Justice Commission has found that African facilitators and brokers play critical roles in both the Vietnamese and Chinese criminal networks operating in Africa. These roles often extend beyond sourcing products to include organising travel and corrupt connections at seaports and airports, selecting and procuring the cover loads and managing the storage, transport and packing of shipments. Vietnamese criminal networks appear to be made up of a core group of Vietnamese citizens centred on one or two principals and trusted local associates – often relative – in the countries in which they conduct their business. The principal usually has the most experience and best connections to brokers in Africa, buyers in Asia and logistics contacts at both ends of the supply chain. Chinese wildlife crime networks have been found to display structural and operational characteristics typical of sophisticated organised crime groups. Networks appear to be structured as a collection of hierarchically arranged members with a centralised authority. Each network member is devoted to a particular function such as financing, sourcing, logistics and money movement. These roles are often formally defined, and continuity of network membership is evident across several years of operation. WJC investigations have identified a high level of connectivity across Nigerian criminal networks involved in the supply and trade of pangolin scales and ivory. There are fluid, informal and temporary associations between Nigerian traders, as opposed to the longer-term relationships and structures of more traditional organised crime networks. Collaboration between traders is believed to occur on an opportunistic basis, such as drawing on and sharing each other's supply and logistics contacts. While a strict hierarchical structure has not been observed, all criminal networks investigated by the WJC appear to have a principal, generally the person in the group with the most experience and best connections to both customers in Asia and logistics contacts in Nigeria. Law enforcement While the pandemic generated the initial shock that almost completely halted trafficking movements for a short period, proactive and targeted law enforcement efforts have also contributed to fundamental change in the global wildlife crime landscape. Pivotal arrests and prosecutions of high-level traffickers have occurred in several countries along the supply chains during the period of this analysis, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Mozambique. Law enforcement efforts in China have been integral in this scenario. Since its elephant ivory trade ban came into force in December 2017, supported by a sophisticated and methodical investigative approach, China has taken out entire criminal networks involved in ivory trafficking. This has included top-down and multigenerational targeting within the networks, repatriating Chinese citizens from Africa to China to face prosecution for their crimes, as well as convicting foreign citizens committing crimes in China. It is also one of the few countries known to be applying asset forfeiture orders against high-level wildlife traffickers, which is a powerful tool to deprive criminals of the proceeds of crime. Reforms in the criminal justice system have given higher priority to environmental crimes, including establishing more than 2,000 specialised environmental courts and trial organisations and introducing specialised teams of prosecutors to handle environmental cases. These cases have delivered an almost 100% conviction rate and heavy sentencing which seeks to address the higher tier of organised crime. The good news In the post-pandemic period, pangolin scale and ivory trafficking both appear to have stabilised at relatively low levels and have shown consistency in trends since 2022. A substantial decrease in multitonne seizures and the decline in pangolin scale and ivory values all signal a significant slowing down in the trafficking of both commodities since Covid-19. The rise in large, land-based stockpile seizures in Africa, however, points to continued demand but also backlogs in orders. Together, these findings could indicate a higher arrest risk or weakened capacity of organised crime networks to move shipments out of Africa. This provides a glimmer of hope in the outlook for pangolins and elephants. A slowing down in the cross-continental trafficking of their scales and tusks may bring some reprieve for these species. If it can be sustained, there could be a chance for recovery for these heavily trafficked animals. DM
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Thai man arrested for alleged smuggling of two baby orangutans
Police in Thailand have arrested a man on suspicion of wildlife trafficking after he was found with two baby orangutans in a basket at a gas station in the Thai capital. The 47-year-old suspect was apprehended Wednesday as he was about to deliver the two primates to a customer, Thai police said in a statement on Thursday. Officers discovered the orangutans – one about 1-year-old and the other 1 month-old – in plastic baskets, police said. Images released by authorities showed one of the orangutans in a plastic basket, wearing a diaper and hugging a soft toy alongside feeding bottles. The man was arrested on charges of 'illegally possessing protected wildlife' under Thai law and could face up to four years in prison, police said. Investigators are working to determine the origin of the baby orangutans, Kasidach Charoenlap, a police officer with the Central Investigation Bureau, told CNN on Friday. The man had admitted he was delivering the animals, 'but he didn't say where he got the babies from,' Kasidach said. Police said they had uncovered an illegal wildlife trade network and were working to find out whether the orangutans had been bred in Thailand or abroad, he added. The operation was carried out in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Netherlands, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the police statement said. The orangutans, named Christopher and Stefan, are now under the care of wildlife officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, authorities told CNN. The department said that Stefan, the 1-month-old, is in an incubator because of weak health and Christopher, the 1-year-old, has been relocated to a sanctuary run by the agency. Authorities said the orangutans are believed to have been sold for around 300,000 Thai baht ($9,050). Orangutans are native to Sumatra and Borneo, two Southeast Asian islands that are home to some of the world's most diverse rainforests, and have come under threat as a result of deforestation, habitat destruction and poaching. They are listed as 'critically endangered' under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses extinction risks. The gentle apes, once found in greater numbers across Southeast Asia, have experienced sharp population declines, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Thailand has long been a hub for the illegal wildlife trade. Its border area with Myanmar, Laos, and China – known as the Golden Triangle – is a hotspot of cross-border trafficking, illegal wildlife trade and consumption, according to WWF.
New York Times
10-04-2025
- New York Times
Can Nigeria Help Save the Pangolins Amid a Global Wildlife Crime Crisis?
Demand for pangolins in Asia, where populations of these scaly mammals have dwindled, has driven traffickers to Africa, the only other continent where the increasingly endangered animals can be found. Nigeria has become a hub for pangolin trafficking and other illegal trading of wildlife. But authorities have been cracking down, recently arresting a Chinese national suspected of being a high-level pangolin trafficker and targeting a supply network in a market in Lagos this month. The latter investigation led to five more arrests and the seizure of 8,300 pounds of pangolin scales — prized in Asia for their perceived medicinal value — from an estimated 1,900 slain animals. Michael Awe, the regional customs chief, said the investigation sends 'a strong signal' that the Nigeria Customs Service 'will not relent in its efforts in fighting wildlife crime to a standstill.' The arrests are part of a enforcement push that shows Nigeria's increasing focus on combating animal trafficking is paying off, experts say. Nigeria's Customs Service made the arrests with intelligence from the Wildlife Justice Commission, a Netherlands-based foundation that supplies global law enforcement with evidence on criminal wildlife trafficking rings. The Chinese national detained in Lagos in February was connected to nearly 16,000 pounds of pangolin scales seized in August after a six-month investigation. 'The operation shows the value of long-term intelligence gathering and international cooperation — and it reflects a calculated effort to go beyond low-level busts,' said Dr. Meganne Natali, a lawyer and legal consultant specializing in wildlife crime. To disrupt global pangolin trafficking, investigators must focus on catching top operatives and not just lone poachers, who are often poor and low on the trafficking totem pole, she said. Wildlife trafficking is a $20 billion international industry, according to Interpol. The trade in protected pangolins is widely driven by desire for the scales in herbal medicine in China. But this is just a tiny fraction of demand for exotic animals, live and dead, around the world. Nigerian officers recently rescued 12 live African gray parrots, a protected and highly sought species, by following two suspicious unaccompanied boxes on an overnight bus trip earlier in April. A traveler from Cameroon was caught in late March in Nigeria with 213 parrot heads, 29 packs of parrot feathers, 128 African hornbill heads, five eagle heads and a pack of eagle feathers, and two chimpanzee heads and eight limbs, according to a regional customs chief, Chukwudi Ogbonna. 'This illegal wildlife trade not only undermines our biodiversity but also fuels transnational crime, threatening economic stability and public safety,' he said in a statement. Nigeria signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1974, and enforcement broadly falls on the country's customs authority. But the authority's efforts were long seen as 'toothless' and it was 'not prepared or properly equipped,' Abim Isafiade, a former longtime officer there, wrote in the World Customs Organization magazine last year. That changed with the creation of the Special Wildlife Office in the customs service in 2021, she said, which became 'the new sheriff in town,' focusing on illegal trafficking. Since 2021, Nigerian officials have conducted 18 joint operations, leading to the seizure of more than 55,000 pounds of pangolin scales and 2,200 pounds of ivory. The cases have resulted in 12 convictions, including that of a Vietnamese trafficking kingpin, according to the W.J.C. Nigeria's efforts to shake its reputation as a wildlife trafficking hub have had laudable results, said Crawford Allan, a wildlife crime and policy expert at the World Wildlife Fund. Other countries are similarly toughening enforcement, he said. In Vietnam, which has long faced criticism for failing to curb illegal trade in endangered animals and products, authorities are being trained in techniques to ferret out traffickers and cooperating with counterparts abroad, said Mr. Allan, who has been involved in the training efforts. This week, authorities in Hong Kong said that the smuggling of vulnerable and endangered species, such as elephants, pangolins and rhinoceroses, had 'dropped significantly' after prosecutions and penalties for wildlife trafficking rose in 2021. Much of the global discussion of wildlife trafficking centers on Asia and Africa. But criminal rings are supplying consumers who want endangered and protected animals and products in every part of the world, and there are transit hubs everywhere. Europe is an important of 'destination, transit and origin for many' protected species, according to the The European Commission. Wildlife trafficking has become a lucrative business for criminal rings as demand has surged, sometimes rivaling the drug trade, Dr. Natali said. She noted that a kilo of rhinoceros horns, or 2.2 pounds, can sell for up to $75,000, which 'exceeds the value of cocaine right now.' While there is some evidence of a reduction in trafficking of some wildlife products, such efforts cannot be done in a vacuum, experts say. The United Nations last year noted that 'large and powerful organized crime groups operating in some of the most fragile and diverse ecosystems from the Amazon to the Golden Triangle' in Southeast Asia are involved, so attacking the problem 'requires a broader strategy to address organized crime.'
Miami Herald
08-04-2025
- Miami Herald
15,000 pounds of pangolin scales seized, then ‘kingpin' arrested, officials say
A 'high-level' wildlife trafficker was arrested in Nigeria after officials said they seized 179 bags of pangolin scales in what they called 'a significant victory against transnational wildlife crime.' The Chinese national was arrested Feb. 19 after a raid at a warehouse in Ogun, Nigeria, according to a March 31 news release from the Wildlife Justice Commission. The Nigeria Customs Service discovered 31 bags of pangolin scales stashed in the warehouse during the first raid on Aug. 8, 2024, according to the release. Authorities found an additional 148 bags of pangolin scales during a follow-up search two days later, officials said. Authorities seized 15,873 pounds of pangolin scales worth an estimated $1.4 million, according to officials. Officials said the seizure 'dealt a significant financial blow to the trafficking network.' The 'suspected kingpin' and owner of the stockpile was arrested in Lagos six months later, thanks to intelligence collected by the Wildlife Justice Commission, according to the release. The man's arrest is expected to disrupt the criminal networks in Nigeria that are 'supplying the illegal wildlife trade,' officials said in the release. 'By dismantling criminal operations from the top down and across major global supply chains, we can help stop transnational organised crime from driving species to extinction,' the organization said. It is estimated more than 1 million pangolins, the only mammal with scales, have been trafficked over a 10-year period, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Pangolins are trafficked primarily for their scales, which are believed to treat a variety of ailments in traditional medicine practices in Asia and Africa. Pangolin scales, made of the same material as human hair and fingernails, have no scientifically proven medicinal value, according to experts.
