In 2021, a multi-agency task force led by officers of Sri Lanka Customs executed a search on a warehouse in Colombo. They seized 300kg of shark fins and 250kg of dried manta and mobula ray gills, packed and ready to be shipped to Hong Kong. This night-time raid was the culmination of many months of hard work.
The investigation began the year prior, when a suspicious shipment to Hong Kong was identified and shared on secure communication platforms between UN personnel and a large group of officers from various law enforcement and fisheries agencies working in Sri Lanka and Nepal.
The group was previously established as a communications channel during wildlife trafficking training organized by the Container Control Programme (CCP), a joint initiative established in 2004 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
Two key factors in the fight against wildlife crime are the cooperation of law enforcement and the effective use of the latest available technology. Criminals are constantly innovating, so law enforcement must keep up. Even more importantly, there is the need for effective cooperation and timely sharing of intelligence and other useful data.
During the pandemic, the CCP utilized remote training to bring together different countries based along smuggling routes. The exchange of information between CCP units in East Africa and Southeast Asia in the first online training contributed to a seizure of ivory. Information sharing between CCP personnel and Sri Lankan Customs officers in South Asia on the WCO Customs Enforcement Network Communication Platform (CENcomm) in the second online training drew attention to a consignment of shark fins; this investigation ultimately led to the interception of the aforementioned seizure of shark fins and manta ray and mobula ray gills. The officers involved emphasized the value of CCP assistance and training in this case.
In 2022, CCP delivered two face-to-face interregional wildlife crime trainings in Tanzania and Namibia respectively, bringing together various agencies from Angola, Cambodia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda. The extensive classroom training, private sector equipment demonstrations and practical exercises provided a comprehensive understanding of customs methods and procedures around the wildlife trade. The practical exercises involved scanning and physically inspecting passenger luggage, vehicles and containers, with real samples of rhino horn, elephant ivory, pangolin, African big cats and other protected species hidden inside.
National counterparts praised the quality of the classroom training content, the realism of the practical exercises, and also put particular emphasis on the value of the networking aspect of the event. Officers had the valuable opportunity to forge professional relationships that could well form the basis for future cooperation, intelligence sharing and operational results in the fight against wildlife crimes.
The CCP is planning to organize another interregional wildlife crime training with a focus on evidence handling and investigation, in collaboration with the WCO COPES (Customs Operational Practices for Enforcement and Seizures) Programme. The CCP hopes to export this model to more countries, and is also investigating the possibility of adapting this interregional model to suit other kinds of contraband and specific smuggling routes.
In 2023, UNODC-WCO CCP will continue to support participating countries in building capacity for risk management, supply chain security and trade facilitation in seaports, airports and land border crossings around the world – interrupting transnational organized crime routes and deterring the trafficking of illicit goods in source, transit and target countries.
