As the Covid-19 pandemic slowly subsided and borders opened this year, criminal networks went back to business as usual, resulting in an increase in poaching and trafficking of wildlife and as a result, an increase of seizures. In response, the Wildlife Justice Commission stepped up its fight against transnational organised wildlife crime. Our intelligence-led approach allowed us to secure major arrests in, amongst others, Nigeria, Mozambique and Thailand, to deepen our understanding of the criminal dynamics, and to share our expertise with law enforcement, policy makers, and practitioners across the globe.
Category: News
Speaking for Wildlife Justice at CITES CoP19
The chance to afford greater protection to nearly six hundred species of wildlife was the focus of this year’s CITES CoP19 (Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora at the nineteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties), which took place in Panama this month.
New report on tiger farms: How organised crime exploits captive tiger facilities
Over the last century, the wild tiger population has fallen to alarmingly low levels. While tigers are adversely affected by climate change, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict, the illegal tiger trade is believed to be the most imminent threat.
Where does the fight against wildlife crime need to go next?
I was honoured to be invited to share reflections on the fight against wildlife crime at the recent United for Wildlife Global Summit in my capacity as the Executive Director of the Wildlife Justice Commission and I would like to take the opportunity to share those reflections also in this blog.
Global threat assessment on rhino horn trafficking offers unique insight into the criminal dynamics of the illegal trade – and how to fight it
The Wildlife Justice Commission published a new threat assessment, on the current state of rhino horn trafficking and efforts to fight it over the past decade: 'Rhino horn trafficking as a form of transnational organised crime (2012–2021): 2022 Global Threat Assessment.'
Wildlife Kingpin: The rise and fall of Ah Nam
From the Wildlife Justice Commission comes the first-ever in-depth analysis of a real-life investigation into the dark underbelly of wildlife crime. Our new original podcast series: “Wildlife kingpin: the rise and fall of Ah Nam”, follows a team of investigators on the hunt for one of Asia’s biggest traffickers of elephant and rhino products.
The WJC provides training to wildlife and forestry officers in Malaysia to intensify efforts in the fight against cyber-enabled wildlife trade
The Wildlife Justice Commission delivered the last of three targeted capacity-building courses, focusing on strengthening intelligence gathering and cybercrime investigations to the Sabah Wildlife Department and Sabah Forestry Departments in Malaysia.
Ah Nam: The Downfall of Vietnam’s Wolf of Wall Street
The Wildlife Justice Commission has published a report on the rise and fall of one of Vietnam’s biggest wildlife traffickers. Nguyen Van Nam, referred to in the report as Ah Nam, was the focus of a Wildlife Justice Commission investigation from 2016 until 2019.
World Rhino Day 2022: Putting rhinos back on the radar
Law enforcement agencies globally must address rhino horn trafficking as a form of transnational organised crime along with an increased focus on the higher level actors in the rhino horn supply chain. This was the key message that emerged from a joint webinar hosted by WWF South Africa and the Wildlife Justice Commission to mark World Rhino Day 2022.
The world of marine criminal justice – on land and at sea
I recently had the honour of speaking at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon in my capacity as the Executive Director of the Wildlife Justice Commission – specifically on Sustainable Development Goal 14.
Supporting intelligence-led wildlife crime investigations in South Africa and Mozambique with USAID
In June and July 2022, the Wildlife Justice Commission conducted four tailored training courses for law enforcement agencies in Mozambique and South Africa.
The Illicit Wildlife Trade: Developments, Responses, and Lessons Learned to Support SDG 15
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) joined the Wildlife Justice Commission in co-organising a session about innovative responses that target different stages in international trafficking flows.