Month-long operation
involving wildlife enforcement officers,
forest authorities, park rangers, police
and customs officers identifies major networks
involved in the smuggling of elephant ivory
in Africa.
More than 240 kg of elephant ivory and 856
timber logs have been seized during an INTERPOL-coordinated
operation to combat ivory trafficking and
illegal logging across Southern and Eastern
Africa
Lyon, France, 29 November
2013 - More than 240 kg of elephant ivory
and 856 timber logs have been seized and
660 people arrested during an INTERPOL-coordinated
operation combating ivory trafficking and
illegal logging across Southern and Eastern
Africa.
As part of INTERPOL's
Project Wisdom and Project Leaf, the operation
jointly targeted ivory smuggling and illegal
logging, with smugglers often concealing
ivory inside charcoal containers or welded
chambers of trucks used to transport logs
across borders. Also seized were 20 kg of
rhino horns, 302 bags of charcoal, 637 firearms,
nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition, 30 chainsaws,
200 kilos of cannabis and khat, 65 pellets
of heroin, 47 animal parts and 44 vehicles.
FURTHER RESOURCES
UNEP-INTERPOL First High-level Compliance
and Enforcement Meeting (Press Release)
INTERPOL
Elephants in the Dust-The African Crisis
Report (Press Release)
Elephants in the Dust-The African Elephant
Crisis (Report)
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
The International Consortium on Combatting
Wildlife Crime (ICCWC)
The month-long operation (26 September -
26 October), supported by the Wildcat Foundation
and the Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation (NORAD), involved wildlife enforcement
officers, forest authorities, park rangers,
police and customs officers from five countries
? Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania
and Zimbabwe.
"Through this INTERPOL
operation, we have identified major networks
involved in the smuggling of elephant ivory
and we have also seized significant amounts
of ivory, as well as illegal shipments of
timber and charcoal," said Heri Lugaye,
Assistant Superintendent of Police at the
INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Dar
es Salaam, Tanzania. "We are still
following intelligence generated from this
operation and expect to make further seizures
based on these collaborative efforts,"
he added.
David Higgins, Head
of INTERPOL's Environmental Security unit,
also underlined the importance of information
sharing and intelligence analysis. "These
operations bring in a great deal of information
and intelligence on not only where and how
these crimes are being committed, but also
about the individuals and networks behind
them," said Mr Higgins.
"Through analysis
and comparison with information stored in
INTERPOL's global databases, this enables
law enforcement to obtain a clearer picture
of how to more effectively target resources
and disrupt the transnational crime networks
involved," added Mr Higgins.
Ahead of the operation
26 officers from Mozambique took part in
a training programme at INTERPOL's National
Central Bureau in Maputo supported by the
Portuguese Military Police, where they were
updated on the latest wildlife investigation
tools and techniques. One of the key aims
of the operation was to strengthen national
and regional capacity to protect elephants
and rhinoceros facing extinction due to
poaching and illegal trade in ivory and
horns.
In early November two
further interventions were made in Dar es
Salaam and Zanzibar with more than 1,700
pieces of ivory weighing nearly five tonnes
seized.
An INTERPOL Investigative
Support Team was deployed to Eastern Africa
to provide member countries with additional
investigative and analytical expertise and
to assess environmental crimes in the region,
focusing on elephant poaching and illicit
trafficking in ivory.
The data collected from
the operation and the recent seizures will
be compiled, analysed and used as guidance
in future enforcement efforts regionally
and internationally.
