A joint World Customs
Organization (WCO) – INTERPOL law enforcement operation has seen hundreds of arrests
and the disruption of wildlife and timber crime networks globally.
Codenamed “Thunder
2022”, the month-long (3-30 October) operation brought together police, customs,
financial intelligence units, wildlife and forestry enforcement agencies from 125
countries - the largest number of countries to take part in a Thunder operation
since the series started in 2017.
Through routine
inspections and targeted controls, hundreds of parcels, suitcases, vehicles, boats
and cargo transporters were examined, often with the use of sniffer dogs and X-ray
scanners.
Searches at land
and air border checkpoints focused on illegally traded species protected by national
legislation or CITES.
CITES is an international
agreement to ensure that trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their
survival. All trade performed in breach of CITES is illegal.
Seizures ranged
from timber to live animals, as well as animal parts, bushmeat, and derivatives
such as clothing, beauty products, food items, traditional medicines and handicrafts.
A powerful
global alliance
Although operational
results are still being reported, Operation Thunder 2022 has so far seen almost
2,200 seizures and the identification of 934 suspects, triggering a series of worldwide
arrests and investigations linked to illegal trading, processing, exporting and
importing of protected wildlife and forestry products.
In addition to
the identification of 141 companies suspected of engaging in illegal sales, total
worldwide seizures of protected animals and plants so far include:
·
Wildlife:
o 119 big cats and
other felines
o 34 primates, 136
primate body parts
o 25 rhino horns
o 9 pangolins, 389
kg pangolin scales and derivatives
o 750 birds, more
than 450 bird parts
·
With seizures reported in units, or total kg, the results also include:
o Almost 780 kg and
516 pieces elephant ivory, and 27 elephant body parts
o 1,795 reptiles
and almost half a tonne reptile parts and derivative products
o 4,337 and 2,813
kg marine products, including corals, eels and sea cucumbers
o 1,190 turtles and
tortoises, 1,304 units and 8 kg body parts
o More than a tonne
and 17,081 units other wildlife, parts and derivatives.
·
Plants and timber:
o 47,28 m3
rosewood and 17,163 pieces
o Almost 47,000 m3
and 6,764 pieces other timber
o 710 cacti, 125
and 1,706 kg orchids
o Almost 3.5 tonnes
and 7,815 units other plants
o More than five
tonnes and 3,945 units plant derivatives.
In Southern Africa,
Namibian authorities intercepted large amounts of timber before they were smuggled
into the region, Angola arrested a citizen of the Asian region attempting to travel
to Asia with rhino horns and ivory ornaments, and Malawi authorities seized elephant
tusks at the home of a man with Asian citizenship.
In Asia, Thailand
reported several seizures of tortoises from East Africa and hundreds of live reptiles
from Europe, whilst Indonesia made two large seizures of timber bound for the Middle
East and Asia. India seized some 1,200 reptiles (iguanas, pythons, monitor lizards
and tortoises) declared as “ornamental fish” and packed in cardboard boxes.
With Europe a growing
destination region for protected wildlife, France intercepted reptiles from Central
Africa hidden in luggage, Germany intercepted tiger skin amulets in a parcel from
Asia and the UK seized several ivory pieces after investigating a man selling wildlife
on an e-commerce platform.
Illustrating the
commitment of the American continent to protecting its natural heritage, Costa Rica
arrested an individual in possession of hundreds of protected wildlife species and
Peru issued an INTERPOL Red Notice against a timber trafficker. Parrots, iguana
eggs, coral, crocodile leather products, caviar and shark meat were seized in several
US international airports.
Several countries
reported seizures of garments and accessories made of reptile skins.
“Large scale cross-border
operations like Operation Thunder 2022 are as much about putting criminals behind
bars as about raising public awareness on what species or product people can or
cannot buy, sell, or take from the wild - global multi-stakeholder cooperation is
key to effectively tackle transnational criminal networks, from seizure to arrest,
and to prosecution, as with the data collected, customs administrations can refine
their risk management and strategies,” said WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya.
“Thunder operations
are important to global security because timber and wildlife trafficking are not
just conservation issues – officers lose their lives every year, livelihoods are
destroyed, diseases are spread, governments weakened and entire economies destroyed.
This is because the huge financial gains to be made attract serious organized crime
and terrorist militants who grease the wheels of crime with heavy doses of corruption,”
said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.
Intelligence-led
field operations
Customs and police
units shared wildlife and timber trafficking intelligence both ahead and during
operations, enabling field officers to identify and target trafficking hotspots,
with an emphasis on land and airport border points as well as wildlife parks.
Known criminals,
particularly INTERPOL Red Notice fugitives, were identified ahead of operations,
along with companies used to facilitate wildlife and timber crime.
Customs and police
contribute to conservation efforts by gathering and delivering admissible evidence
that supports investigations and prosecutions.
Coordinated jointly
by the WCO and INTERPOL, with the backing of the CITES Secretariat and the International
Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), Thunder Operations are funded by
the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Partnerships (INTPA),
and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).