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Convergence of wildlife crime with other forms of organised crime May 2021 www.wildlifejustice.org 3 Table of contents Acronyms ............................................................................................................. 4 Executive Summary ............................................................................................ 7 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 10 Brief review of wildlife crime convergence ................................................. 12 Illustrative case studies of convergence ...................................................... 15 Wildlife crime ............................................................................................. 16 Case study 1 ....................................................................................... 16 Case study 2 ....................................................................................... 20 Case study 3 ....................................................................................... 22 Case study 4 ....................................................................................... 24 Case study 5 ....................................................................................... 26 Case study 6 ....................................................................................... 28 Fisheries crime .......................................................................................... 30 Case study 7 ....................................................................................... 30 Case study 8 ....................................................................................... 32 Case study 9 ....................................................................................... 34 Timber crime ............................................................................................. 37 Case study10 ..................................................................................... 37 Case study 11 ..................................................................................... 39 Case study 12 ..................................................................................... 41 Analysis and discussion ................................................................................... 43 Common facilitating factors: Bribery and corruption ...................... 44 Common resulting crime: Money laundering .................................... 44 Opportunities for law enforcement agencies .................................... 45 The role of intelligence analysis ............................................................ 47 Conclusion and recommendations ............................................................... 50 © All photos are property of the Wildlife Justice Commission, unless otherwise indicated. Not for reproduction. 4 www.wildlifejustice.org 5 We have been able to complete this report with the generous support of the Adessium Foundation, Dr. Boy van Droffelaar, the Dutch Postcode Lottery, the Whitehead Foundation, WWF and several donors Acronyms who wish to remain anonymous. BMF Bruno Manser Fund NRCN Natural Resources Conservation Network CITES Convention on the International Trade in PERHILITAN Department of Wildlife Endangered Species of and National Parks Wild Fauna and Flora Peninsular Malaysia CoP Conference of the Parties RFD Royal Forest Department (Thailand) DEA United States Drug Enforcement Agency UNEP United Nations Environment Programme DSI Department of Special Investigation (Thailand) UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Hong Kong SAR Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of UNTOC United Nations Convention the People’s Republic of against Transnational China Organised Crime IUU fishing Illegal, Unreported and USFWS United States Fish and Unregulated fishing Wildlife Service MACC Malaysia Anti-Corruption UWA Uganda Wildlife Authority Commission NGO Non-governmental organisation © Wildlife Justice Commission 2021 AUTHOR Jenny Feltham CONTRIBUTIONS Sarah Stoner Olivia Swaak-Goldman Stephen Carmody PRODUCTION Isabel Leal Carina Mensching DESIGN batweb.es Acknowledgement 6 www.wildlifejustice.org 7 Executive Summary Over the past two decades, wildlife crime has be- Convergence can occur opportunistically on an ad- come a form of transnational organised crime, gen- hoc basis, as a complete “career shift” in response erating billions of dollars annually and affecting al- to changing conditions, or as part of a diversifica- most every country. As wildlife crime has increased tion strategy to increase profits across a range of in seriousness and profitability as a crime type, illicit commodities. It can also occur transaction- so too have reports of its convergence with other ally when criminal groups in different markets ex- forms of organised crime. However, these reports change goods or services with each other or could have been mostly anecdotal, and the nature of this be embedded to such an extent that the crimes are relationship is still largely undocumented. inextricably linked. Through its own investigations and intelligence Intelligence analysis is an essential tool to identify analysis, the Wildlife Justice Commission has also cases where convergence exists and to manage the collected evidence of criminal networks that are highest threat from organised crime. Yet there is a dealing in wildlife alongside other illicit commodi- lack of focus on the collection and analysis of wild- ties. This report aims to present some of these ex- life crime data and information. Few governments amples, along with information collected from open hold their own comprehensive datasets, and unlike sources, to contribute to the knowledge base on other illicit commodities, there is no standardised this issue. It sets out 12 case studies that illustrate data collection for wildlife. Furthermore, there is in- a range of converging crime types and typologies adequate sharing of the information that does ex- that have transpired in different regions of the world ist, meaning that opportunities to fully understand to increase the understanding of how these inter- the threat posed by convergence are being missed sections can occur on the ground. The case stud- and resources are not being allocated appropriately ies include six cases involving the trafficking of ter- in response to the problem. restrial wild animals, three cases involving fisheries crimes, and three cases involving timber crimes (al- Several commonalities can be observed in the case though they are collectively referred to as wildlife crime studies, particularly elements of bribery and corrup- throughout the report). tion that are an underlying factor present in almost every case, and money laundering as a converging The cases demonstrate that criminal groups may crime linked to the proceeds generated from wild- have a range of motivations to diversify their activi- life crime. The clear and frequent intersection of ties and engage in wildlife or other types of crime. these crimes highlights the need for financial and @WildlifeJusticeCommission Wildlife Justice Commission Wildlife Justice Commission @WJCommission www.wildlifejustice.org 8 www.wildlifejustice.org 9 corruption investigations that run in parallel or in re- Wildlife crime is a i More consideration should iv Consideration should be sponse to wildlife crime cases; however, few coun- be given to intelligence collection given to using alternative tries are currently undertaking these types of inves- cross-cutting criminal tigations. Financial investigations in particular are an activity which cannot be and sharing in a timely and secure legislation relating to the important but under-utilised technique to identify manner, and for governments to convergent or ancillary offences and trace the proceeds of crime, with the aim of ulti- tackled in isolation from mately seizing or confiscating funds or property de- other crimes. develop their own comprehensive where relevant and appropriate. rived from crime and removing the financial incen- wildlife crime information systems. tive and expected reward for criminals. v Financial and corruption The cases also demonstrate that wildlife crime is Crime convergence should be ii Organised crime group investigations should be conducted a cross-cutting criminal activity which cannot be further studied and integrated as mapping should be an essential tool in parallel or in response to wildlife tackled in isolation from other crimes. Multi-agen- cy investigations and task forces can be an effective part of the approach to tackle to identify how and where crime cases to identify any associated strategy to address convergence, offering alterna- wildlife crime and organised crime convergence may be occurring, and money laundering or corruption tive legislation, powers, and expertise of other law enforcement agencies to enable the application of more broadly, as improved to tackle wildlife crime as an offences, payment methods, and the full force of the law to the crime. The Wildlife understanding of this intersection organised crime threat. to identify the proceeds of crime Justice Commission’s investigations have frequent- ly shown that high-level wildlife criminals can also can help to identify more strategic to facilitate asset recovery. be less operationally savvy compared to top-lev- iii Multi-agency cooperation, policy and law enforcement el criminals in other crime types, which can some- joint investigations and task forces

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