Category: Intelligence

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France — Endangered animals including elephants, rhinos and pangolins, as well as protected timber, particularly tropical hardwoods, have been seized in a joint INTERPOL – World Customs Organization (WCO) operation to stop wildlife and timber trafficking.

From 2 – 27 October, customs and police officers coordinated some 500 arrests worldwide and more than 2,000 confiscations of animals and plants that are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) due to their threatened status. Any trade performed in breach of CITES is illegal.

The global operation, named Operation Thunder, involved police, customs, border control, environment, wildlife and forestry officials in 133 countries who worked together across borders. This marked the highest participation rate in Operation Thunder since the annual law enforcement campaign was launched in 2017.

Among the 2,114 seizures were more than 300kg of ivory, thousands of turtle eggs, 30 tonnes of plants, dozens of big cat body parts and rhino horns, as well as primates, birds and marine species.

Authorities also confiscated 2,624 cubic metres of timber which is equivalent to 440 standard shipping containers.

Although Operation Thunder 2023 results are still coming in, initial data has enabled police and customs to identify some clear trends:

• 60 per cent of wildlife trafficking cases were linked to transnational organized crime groups, operating along routes also known for smuggling other illegal products.
• Protected reptiles and marine life are being exploited for luxury brand fashion.
• Online sales platforms are still being used to sell wildlife, timber and marine goods.
• Illegal and legal timber are blended for transport to make it difficult to detect illegally logged wood.
• Transnational organized crime groups resort to high levels of document fraud, particularly the use of forged certifications and CITES permits and permit reuse.

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said:

“Important and endangered animals, birds and plants are being put at risk of extinction by wildlife and timber traffickers. These appalling crimes not only deprive the world of unique animals and plants but also countries of their natural assets and resources.

“The costs to communities are even greater, because as this Operation shows, almost all environmental crime has links to other forms of crime including violence, corruption and financial crime, but also has strong links to transnational organized crimes groups.

“As the world grapples with the devastating consequences of environmental degradation and species extinction, INTERPOL and WCO are emerging as leaders in safeguarding biodiversity and world security.”

WCO Secretary General Dr Kunio Mikuriya said:

“As part of a comprehensive strategy, customs plays a pivotal role in disrupting criminal networks involved in the illegal wildlife trade. This is achieved by enforcing strict controls at borders, effectively closing off avenues for exploitation and financial gain available to traffickers.”

“At the forefront of this strategy, customs employs intelligence-sharing, championing collaboration, and adopting technological advancements. These measures are crucial to stay one step ahead of criminals, thereby ensuring that customs’ contribution to combating wildlife crime is dynamic, responsive and adaptive.”

INTERPOL and the WCO shared intelligence, coordinated investigations and pooled their resources to enable frontline police and customs officers to target, identify and arrest traffickers, including those operating online, as they tried to smuggle animals or timber across borders.   

Known traffickers wanted through INTERPOL’s Red Notice alert system were identified ahead of operations and were subsequently targeted when crossing borders.

Hundreds of vehicles, including cars, trucks, and cargo ships, were searched at checkpoints across all regions. Specialized sniffer dogs and X-ray scanners were deployed to detect hidden wildlife and camouflaged timber shipments. Hundreds of parcels, suitcases, vehicles, boats and cargo transporters were examined as they are often used to conceal transported wildlife species.

CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero said:

“The results of Operation Thunder 2023 again show that strong and coordinated responses between parties are crucial to tackle transnational criminal networks involved in wildlife crime.

“Well targeted, unified and coordinated efforts such as those mobilized through this global operation are exactly what is needed to overcome the threat posed by wildlife crime.”

Notes to editors

Now in its seventh year, Operation Thunder is a joint operation coordinated annually by INTERPOL and the WCO with the backing of CITES and the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime.

Thunder operations are funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Partnerships, Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative, the US Agency for International Development and the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Operation Thunder 2023 coincides with the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference – Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28) which ends today after high level discussions on how to address pressing environmental challenges characterized by climate change and biodiversity loss.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

LYON, France – An INTERPOL-coordinated operation against people smuggling and human trafficking across the Americas has led to 257 arrests, the rescue of 163 potential victims and the detection of nearly 12,000 irregular migrants from 69 different countries.

During Operation Turquesa V, authorities in 33 countries carried out more than 850,000 checks at major transit points to disrupt the transnational organized crime groups profiting from smuggling routes to the USA and Canada.

Throughout the five-day operation (27 November – 1 December), INTERPOL set up an Operational Coordination Unit in Costa Rica. Officers from the Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants unit were also deployed to the land border in Tabatinga, Brazil, and to the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, where they used INTERPOL Mobile Devices to perform live checks against its global databases.

A snapshot of irregular migration trends

Since 2019, Operation Turquesa has provided a snapshot of migration trends in transit countries across South and Central America, allowing destinations further north to monitor changes in migration flows.

Preliminary results of this year’s edition show a marked increase in trans-continental flows, particularly from China, which was the third most detected country of origin among irregular migrants, behind Venezuela and Ecuador.

During interviews, smuggling victims provided valuable insights on recruitment methods, travel conditions and costs. Migrants reported paying between USD 2,700 and upwards of USD 20,000 depending on the journey.

Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General said:

“The number of nationalities detected during Operation Turquesa V demonstrates how this major migration corridor, once considered a route reserved to the Americas, has become the target of organized crime groups from around the world.

“They are making enormous profits by smuggling vulnerable migrants and exploiting men, women, and children along the way. As law enforcement, we must form a united, global front by sharing more information across borders to empower frontline officers.”

In Curaçao, a passport check flagged an inbound passenger from the Dominican Republic as a potential migrant smuggler. Though he claimed to be part of a softball team travelling for a tournament, his luggage contained no equipment or uniforms, nor did his ‘teammates’. They were deported to the Dominican Republic where the man was arrested on arrival.

Thanks to information provided by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), authorities in the Bahamas detected a group of 18 Ecuadorian irregular migrants, pointing to a potential new route through the Caribbean.

Human trafficking: sexual exploitation and cyber-enabled

The majority of victims identified during the operation had been trafficked for sexual exploitation. Dozens of underage victims were rescued, including 12 children in Honduras, the youngest of which was six years old.

After identification of three victims of sexual exploitation and nearly 200 irregular migrants, Chile’s Policia de Investigaciones arrested three suspected members of an organized crime group linked to the Tren de Aragua. At the request of Venezuela, INTERPOL published five Red Notices for additional members of the group.

In a rare case, Brazilian authorities were alerted by hospital staff to a man who had made two separate paternity claims for abandoned newborns in less than one month. They later found that the 49-year-old had recently traveled to Portugal with a newborn, but returned to Sao Paolo alone. Following extensive cooperation between both countries, the baby girl was safeguarded in Portugal and international child trafficking investigations are ongoing.

With organized crime groups becoming increasingly digital, most trafficking victims reported being recruited via messaging apps and social media platforms. In Brazil, the Federal Police froze USD 286,000 in criminal proceeds belonging to an organized crime group running cyber scam centres in Cambodia. More than 100 Brazilians had been promised cryptocurrency jobs through social media ads offering generous wages, productivity bonuses, food, and lodging. Once they arrived, however, they were held against their will and forced to carry out online investment scams.

International cooperation

This operation was financed by Global Affairs Canada, under the framework of Project Turquesa. The initiative leverages the strengths of INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to ensure a whole-of-justice approach to migrant smuggling and human trafficking.

The UNODC will therefore play a key role in following up with prosecutors to carry out the judicial process.

Additional support was provided by Europol and the International Office on Migration.

Participating countries: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, Turks & Caicos, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Source: Interpol (news and events)

MITO, IBARAKI, Japan – Secretary General of INTERPOL Jürgen Stock has welcomed the communique issued by the G7 Interior and Security Ministers meeting today (10 December).

After briefing the G7 meeting on cyber-enabled fraud and transnational organized crime, the Secretary General said:

“We warmly welcome the G7’s commitment to fight transnational organized crime, an international crisis that is undermining the rule of law, communities and business around the world.

“As I set out, we are seeing a considerable increase in the volume and complexity of cyber-enabled fraud around the world. It is being perpetrated by polycriminal transnational organized crime groups, and includes both fraud operations and money laundering.

“We will only match this transnational organized crime through a complete global network – and so it is vital countries work together to tackle these threats internationally through organizations like the G7, but most of all through INTERPOL’s global policing systems.”

The Secretary General also highlighted INTERPOL’s work on Black Axe, an organized crime group based in West Africa, but now based in 40 so-called zones worldwide using cyber-enabled criminal activities.

The G7 Interior and Security Ministers meeting was attended by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as INTERPOL and the EU. The meeting was hosted by Japan in the city of Mito, Ibaraki.