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International Sting Nabs Ivory Traffickers

FrontLines - April 2010

By Jan Cartwright

A Royal Thai Customs Department official inspects African ivory seized at Bangkok’s Suvanabhumi Airport in 2009. The shipment came from Kenya.

Long tail marques in Pramuka Market, the largest bird and wildlife market in Indonesia.

American and Thai officials recently smashed an ivory smuggling ring spanning three continents, resulting in the first arrest of an ivory dealer in Southeast Asia.

The joint investigations traced a Thai ivory dealer’s eBay sale of four African elephant tusks to a California man. Both were arrested.

Evidence collected during the November 2009 arrests resulted in additional raids on ivory shops in Thailand in January, leading to the arrest of two more Thai ivory dealers. The original eBay sales were made in 2006. The eBay website banned ivory sales last year.

Seizures of endangered elephant ivory have increased dramatically in Southeast Asia during the past year. But until these cases, no ivory dealers had been arrested in the region.

The arrests are being hailed as a major victory in combating international ivory trade, which was banned worldwide by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in 1989.

The investigations were supported by the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEANWEN) Support Program and the FREELAND Foundation, which receive USAID funding to improve the capacity of member nations to combat illegal wildlife trade. (See article in FrontLines, July 2008, page 16.)

“These arrests are significant. They are the tip of the biggest iceberg,” said Steve Galster, director of the FREELAND Foundation, referring to the scale of international ivory trade. “I believe there will be more arrests and convictions.”

Illegal wildlife trafficking is believed to generate between $10 billion and $20 billion in Southeast Asia annually. Wildlife trade is particularly appealing to organized crime syndicates due to its high profits and relatively low risk.

“A forest without wildlife is dead,” said Galster. “Wildlife is the blood of a healthy forest, and endangered species are an indicator of the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on.”

Wildlife trafficking, if allowed to continue at its current rate, could eradicate the region’s wildlife in just a few years, said Winston Bowman, environment director for USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia.

“ASEAN-WEN promotes biodiversity conservation and regional cooperation among the ASEAN countries,” Bowman said. “Through the program, we are establishing the building blocks for rule of law and regional security.”

Since 2005, USAID has provided $7 million to help ASEANWEN shut down traffickers by improving enforcement of international and domestic laws against the illegal wildlife trade. ASEAN-WEN brings together the governments of Southeast Asian countries to combat wildlife crime.

Activities include training for police and customs officers, rangers, and airport officials, as well as efforts to increase political will.

During 2009, more than 150 arrests and seizures of contraband worth an estimated $35 million took place in Southeast Asia. More than 18,500 live animals were recovered, including pangolins, exotic birds, and slow lorises, and more than 292 tons of wildlife and derivative products were confiscated in these operations.

ASEAN-WEN’s success is attracting interest among countries in other regions keen to replicate its model. Discussions to use the Wildlife Enforcement Network’s approach are underway in South Asia and Central America.

FrontLines is published by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development

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