The past few decades, we have not only witnessed a rise in environmental crime, but also its convergence with other forms of organised crime like the trafficking of humans, drugs and firearms. These facts set the starting point of a panel discussion held during the 31st session of the CCPCJ.
On 19 May 2022, Olivia Swaak-Goldman, Executive Director of the Wildlife Justice Commission, took the floor during the plenary of the 31st Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPJC), which is taking place this week (16-20 May) in Vienna.
On 26 April 2022, the Wildlife Justice Commission’s successful operations in Thailand continued with the arrest of a man suspected of trafficking live pangolins and other protected wildlife in the Yala province, in south Thailand, and the seizure of a live pangolin.
A joint investigation conducted by officers of the Royal Thai Police and the Wildlife Justice Commission resulted in the arrest of three men suspected of involvement in a big cats trafficking network in Thailand and the Greater Mekong Region.
Oak Foundation has awarded the Wildlife Justice Commission a grant of EUR 1,260,000 to support its mission in the coming 3 years, to disrupt and help dismantle the criminal networks that profit from the trafficking of wildlife.
To effectively disrupt and dismantle organised environmental crime, it is important to target the systemic corruption enabling it. This was the main conclusion of a recent three-part webinar series, organised by the Wildlife Justice Commission and the International Anti-Corruption Academy.
Organised wildlife crime rakes in billions of dollars in revenue each year. To raise awareness of the pressing need for governments to address these crimes, Olivia Swaak-Goldman appeared the Financial Crime Matters podcast by ACAMS.
Financial motives drive organised environmental crimes. To help law enforcement agencies 'follow the money', the Wildlife Justice Commission will co-host an online panel discussion with France, titled ‘Addressing illicit financial flows derived from crimes that affect the environment: Good practices and challenges.’
Acting on local intelligence, the Nigeria Customs Service conducted an operation in Awoyaya on 2 February 2022, arresting four suspects and seizing 839.40 kilograms of pangolin scales and 145 kilograms of elephant ivory.
The Wildlife Justice Commission released a new report on China’s largest ivory smuggling case, detailing the inner workings of a wildlife crime syndicate and what it took to bring it down. Discover the complexity of transnational organised crime and learn useful insights for law enforcement.
To strengthen their legal approach to wildlife crime in the notorious Golden Triangle Region, the Wildlife Justice Commission is collaborating with WWF to provide judicial training for local prosecutors.
As an organisation, 2021 was our most successful year since our founding in 2015. Much of our efforts in previous years came to fruition, and we played a crucial role in major arrests in Thailand and Nigeria.
