November 30, 2021
A worldwide enforcement operation against wildlife and timber crime coordinated by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and INTERPOL has disrupted crime networks and seen hundreds of arrests.
Codenamed Thunder 2021, the operation involved Customs, Police, financial intelligence units and wildlife and forestry enforcement agencies in 118 countries through the month of October, the largest number of participating countries since the inception of the "Thunder" operation series in 2017.
Thousands of cars, trucks, boats and cargo transporters suspected of transporting protected wildlife and timber were searched, often with specialist sniffer dogs and X-ray scanners.
Searches targeted illegally traded CITES-listed specimens, ranging from timber to live big cats, primates, reptiles, and birds, as well as derivative products such as clothing, beauty products, food items, traditional medicines and handicrafts.
Total worldwide seizures reported to date include:
478 kg of ivory and 487 kg of ivory-derived products
75 big cat parts, 29 live big cats
856 kg pangolin scales
531 turtles and tortoises
171 birds
336 reptiles
4,843 kg marine products, including corals
75,320 kg of timber, including 313m3 of rosewood
1.4 million plant-derived items
"Organized crime networks are generating billions in illicit profits every year, at significant cost to our environment as well as the associated impacts of fraud, corruption and violence," said INTERPOL Secretary General Jrgen Stock.
"We are seeing the continued globalization of crime, which means only an international response can be effective, as seen with this latest Operation Thunder. Every one of our 195 member countries has a role to play in combating this threat, either directly or in the follow-up investigations," added Secretary General Stock.