Introduction Wildlife Crime Pollution Crime Environmental Crime Committee Wildlife Crime Working Group Pollution Crime Working Group Conferences and Meetings News Manuals Ecomessage Partners and acknowledgements Previous projects Restricted website Links Environmental crime

Environmental crime news 18 November Thailand - Two Held in Ivory Smuggling Probe Thai police have arrested two men on charges of smuggling African ivory into the country to supply shops in Thailand that sell jewellery and trinkets. Read more... 15 November United States - Flagged by INTERPOL, brought down by the Environmental Protection Agency A Irish national suspected of selling ships for drug smuggling out of Spain has been arrested in the USA after a wanted listing posted on the US Environmental Protection Agency's website. Read more... 12 November Brazil - British Pet Shop Owner 'Tried to Smuggle 1000 Spiders' Brazilian police have seized a British pet-shop owner who was caught trying to smuggle 1,000 live spiders out of the country in his suitcases, officers said tonight. The man, who has not been named, was arrested late on Wednesday as he tried to board a flight to Europe at Rio de Janeiro's international airport. Read more... 11 November International - Crime Rings Boost Ivory Smuggling he last year has seen a major increase in the illegal ivory trade, with more involvement from organised crime. Figures compiled by Traffic show a doubling in the volume of illegal ivory seized from 2008 to 2009. Read more... 7 November Nigeria - Man Held After Tonnes of Illegal E-waste are Exported to Africa The director of a British waste export company suspected of illegally shipping defunct televisions and electronic goods to Africa was detained on suspicion of the illegal export of electronic waste from Britain in an operation by the Environment Agency and the Metropolitan Police as part of a wider crackdown on a trade which leaves thousands of tonnes of broken and contaminated electrical goods dumped in the developing world each year. Read more... Read more news...

Publications  Brochure: Environmental Crime, It’s Global Theft (Acrobat files) Fact sheet: Environmental Crime      (Acrobat files) Newsletters: Issue 02 (Acrobat files) Newsletters: Issue 01 (Acrobat files)

Orang-utan, Indonesia Dave Currey / Environmental Investigation Agency

A seizure of canisters of CFCs and HCFCs labelled as CFC-12 and CFC-22, stacked up in storage, Delhi, India. Environmental Investigation Agency

Burned forest near Sarawak border, Indonesia. Environmental Investigation Agency

Environmental crime is a serious and growing international problem, with criminals polluting the air, water and land and pushing commercially valuable wildlife species closer to extinction.

Crimes against wildlife and the environment – such as the illegal trade in ivory or the pollution of waterways – can have a harmful impact on the economies and security of multiple nations.

Links with serious and organized crime

There is clear evidence that environmental criminals engage in other major areas of crime such as document and passport fraud, corruption, the possession and use of illegal weapons, murder, and other smuggling issues notably in drugs, firearms and people.

A significant proportion of both wildlife crime and pollution crime point to the involvement of organized crime networks. This is evidenced by the types of 'crossover crime' listed above, along with the detailed planning of operations, substantial financial support, the careful management of international shipments and massive profits.

Our mission

INTERPOL’s mission is to assist its member countries in the effective enforcement of national and international environmental laws. In this way we can contribute to the ongoing conservation of the world’s environment, biodiversity and natural resources.

INTERPOL became actively involved in fighting environmental crime in 1992 when it established the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Committee. Its programme has grown significantly over the years and continues to expand as member countries become more active in the two working groups:

• Wildlife Crime Working Group
• Pollution Crime Working Group

Staff

Environmental Crime Programme

David Higgins - Environmental Crime Programme, Wildlife Crime Officer

Emile Lindemulder – Environmental Crime Programme, Pollution Crime Officer

Alexander Mears - Environmental Crime Programme, Administrative Attaché

Jennifer Monnet – Environmental Crime Programme, Intern

Project OASIS

Peter Younger - Project OASIS, Wildlife Crime Programme Manager