Dear friends and supporters,
Over the past month, the Wildlife Justice Commission has continued to support targeted law enforcement operations to disrupt wildlife trafficking networks and protect vulnerable species.
From the rescue of endangered animals in Thailand to celebrating the impact of our long-standing partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service, these developments demonstrate the tangible results of our intelligence-led enforcement.
None of this progress would be possible without the continued support of our partners around the world.
Warm regards,
Olivia
Two arrests — and a leopard cub rescued
On 8 April, a seven-month-old female leopard cub was rescued during a targeted enforcement operation in Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand.
The operation, led by Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) with support from Wildlife Justice, resulted in the arrest of two traffickers who smuggled the cub across the Myanmar–Thailand border. Mae Sot is a known trafficking hotspot that Wildlife Justice investigators have been actively monitoring.
The suspects were charged under Thailand’s Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act (2019) for illegal possession of protected wildlife; if convicted, they face up to ten years in prison each. Investigations are ongoing, with additional suspects linked to the trafficking route from Cambodia still at large.
The leopard is listed under CITES Appendix I, meaning all commercial international trade is prohibited, and is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Two arrests — and an infant monkey rescued
On 1 April, Thai authorities arrested two individuals in Bangkok and rescued an infant dusky leaf monkey during an operation supported by intelligence from Wildlife Justice.
Officials from NED; Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP); and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) carried out the arrests.
This operation reflects a trend identified by Wildlife Justice in 2025: the emergence of a Thailand–India trafficking nexus. Our analysis revealed a sharp increase in wildlife seizures at airports in both countries, indicating a coordinated supply chain moving live animals across borders to international markets. Our intelligence and investigations enabled authorities to identify key actors involved in sourcing and trafficking multiple species along this route.
The dusky leaf monkey is listed under CITES Appendix I and is threatened with extinction. Native to the Malay Peninsula, the species faces ongoing pressure from habitat loss, hunting, and illegal online trade.
These cases demonstrate the value of proactive, intelligence-led enforcement in disrupting criminal networks and protecting species from extinction.
From transit hub to global model: How Nigeria gave pangolins a fighting chance
Wildlife Justice actively participated along the sidelines of the Second Meeting of the IntergJust a few years ago, Nigeria was a major global hub in the illegal pangolin trade, with large-scale shipments moving through the country and enforcement struggling to keep pace with organised criminal networks.
In a joint article, Wildlife Justice Executive Director Olivia Swaak-Goldman and Nigeria Customs Service Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi reflect on the shift towards a more strategic approach, focused on long-term investigations, targeting high-level actors, and following the financial flows behind the trade.
This approach has contributed to a structural change in the operating environment for traffickers, resulting in more effective disruption of these criminal networks and a sharp decline in trafficking.
Nigeria’s experience demonstrates that when enforcement is intelligence-led, sustained, and targeted, even entrenched trafficking networks can be dismantled. Wildlife Justice is now applying this same approach to other environmental crimes, including marine and timber trafficking.
Ocean Talks 2026
Wildlife Justice Executive Director Olivia Swaak-Goldman will deliver the keynote address at Ocean Talks in London on 11 June 2026.
This event brings together leaders from the boating industry and marine conservation sector to address the growing threats facing ocean ecosystems.
Wildlife Justice will highlight how its intelligence-led investigative model is used to identify and disrupt the criminal networks driving marine species trafficking, and how a law enforcement approach is addressing these crimes.
If you are in London on 11 June and interested in marine conservation or the boating sector, this event offers an opportunity to engage with key issues and solutions.
Protecting marine ecosystems requires coordinated, collective action.
Support our work
Wildlife trafficking continues to threaten biodiversity, undermine the rule of law, and fuel transnational organised crime.
With your support, we can continue to identify, target, and disrupt the criminal networks behind these activities, protecting species and strengthening global enforcement responses.
Support our work—together, we can disrupt criminal networks and save species from extinction.
