Photo: Kenya Wildlife Service

INTERPOL have arrested more than 200 people, seized almost 2 tonnes of contraband ivory, 20kg of rhino horn and military grade automatic weapons in an operation that spanned three months and 14 African countries.

Operation WORTHY saw INTERPOL and IFAW team up to target criminal organisations behind the illegal trafficking of ivory. Also seized were lion, leopard and cheetah pelts, crocodile and python skins, live tropical birds, turtles, and other protected species destined to be illegally trafficked around the world.

More than 320 officers from a range of agencies including police, customs, environmental protection agencies, veterinary services, airport security, ministries of tourism and national prosecuting authorities took part in Operation Worthy which saw interventions carried out at markets, ports, shops, border crossings and during roadside checks.

“IFAW believes that one elephant killed for its ivory is one too many.  We will not stand by while elephants are needlessly slaughtered,” said Kelvin Alie, Director of IFAW’s Wildlife Crime and Consumer Awareness Programme. “Some range states are doing their part in hosting and protecting their elephants – the rest of us must act to support them in these efforts. That means developed countries joining IFAW in training wildlife officers, researching the illegal trade and ensuring the safety of our common natural heritage.”

“This has been to date the most wide-ranging operation coordinated by INTERPOL against the illegal ivory trade, not just in terms of seizures and arrests, but also in targeting the criminal organizations making millions of dollars through the killing and destruction of wildlife and their habitat, and associated crimes such as murder, corruption and money laundering,” said David Higgins, manager of INTERPOL’s Environmental Crime Programme.

“The intelligence gathered during Operation Worthy will enable us to identify the links between the poachers and the global networks driving and facilitating the crime. By identifying their international trafficking routes, arresting those involved at higher levels, and suppressing the crime at its source, in transit, and at its destination we are making a real contribution to the conservation of the world’s environment and biodiversity,” concluded Mr Higgins.

Countries which participated in Operation Worthy: Ethiopia, Botswana, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

At the same time as Operation WORTHY was ongoing the State Forestry Police Bureau (FPB) in China received intelligence from IFAW which allowed them to uncover 700 cases of illegal wildlife trade during a recent crackdown on websites and antique markets. They busted 13 gangs, punished 1,031 illegal traders, seized over 130,000 wild animals and their animal products. A total of 7,155 high-street shops and 628 websites selling banned animals were shut down and 1,607 related online messages were removed in the action.

The Chinese operation involved an astounding 100,000 officers from multiple provinces across the country.

At the request of the FPB’s IFAW is currently helping them recheck the reported illegal listings and will report to them again for follow-up enforcement if there’s any still found from those websites.

“IFAW is proud that our efforts and intelligence were an integral part of this impressive crackdown by Chinese authorities on wildlife trafficking,” said Grace Ge Gabriel, Asia Regional Director. “The Chinese authorities are to be congratulated for tackling this issue directly and IFAW remains ready to help with more intelligence.”

Few animals are as threatened by wildlife trafficking as elephants. Earlier this year IFAW raised the alarm as hundreds of elephants were slaughtered in Cameroon. A recent report from IFAW makes it clear that Chinese demand, and demand in other Asian countries, is largely to blame.

IFAW trains law enforcement officers in wildlife trafficking prevention in several countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean. To date, more than 1,300 governmental representatives at the forefront of this struggle have been trained since 2006. Just this month IFAW has conducted trainings in Bhutan, Congo Brazzaville, Dubai and Kazahkstan.

From INTERPOL

INTERPOL’s largest ever transnational operation targeting criminal organizations behind the illegal trafficking of ivory has resulted in more than 200 arrests and the seizure of nearly two tonnes of contraband elephant ivory.

The three-month long Operation Worthy, which involved 14 countries across Eastern, Southern and Western Africa also resulted in the recovery of more than 20 kilos of rhinoceros horn in addition to lion, leopard and cheetah pelts, crocodile and python skins, live tropical birds, turtles, and other protected species destined to be illegally trafficked around the world. Firearms including AK-47s, G3s and M16s were also seized by law enforcement officers.

More than 320 officers from a range of agencies including police, customs, environmental protection agencies, veterinary services, airport security, ministries of tourism and national prosecuting authorities took part in Operation Worthy which saw interventions carried out at markets, ports, shops, border crossings and during roadside checks.

“This has been to date the most wide-ranging operation coordinated by INTERPOL against the illegal ivory trade, not just in terms of seizures and arrests, but also in targeting the criminal organizations making millions of dollars through the killing and destruction of wildlife and their habitat, and associated crimes such as murder, corruption and money laundering,” said David Higgins, manager of INTERPOL’s Environmental Crime Programme.

“The intelligence gathered during Operation Worthy will enable us to identify the links between the poachers and the global networks driving and facilitating the crime. By identifying their international trafficking routes, arresting those involved at higher levels, and suppressing the crime at its source, in transit, and at its destination we are making a real contribution to the conservation of the world’s environment and biodiversity,” concluded Mr Higgins.

Ahead of the operation, a training programme hosted by Botswana and sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) brought together officers from the participating countries to update them on the latest search and seizure techniques and also to allow them to directly exchange information and expertise.

“Thousands of elephants are butchered for their ivory every year and the situation continues to worsen. 2011 was the worst year on record for seizures with over 23 tonnes of ivory seized,” said Kelvin Alie, IFAW’s Wildlife Crime Director. “These animals suffer terribly as they are cruelly killed or wounded so that their skins, tusks, quills and other body parts can be torn off and trafficked.”

A key element of Operation Worthy was building national inter-agency cooperation through National Environmental Security Taskforces (NESTs) which bring together representatives of police, customs, environmental agencies, revenue departments, transport, health agencies, prosecutors and INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs).

NESTs ensure an innovative and coordinated law enforcement response to the sophisticated and organized criminal networks at national levels and through the INTERPOL NCBs, act alongside other NESTs at regional and international levels to combat globalized environmental crime.

Operation Worthy was part of INTERPOL’s Project WISDOM, an initiative against elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn poaching funded by the UK Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and IFAW.

Countries which participated in Operation Worthy: Ethiopia, Botswana, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.