07 le best practices and sig operation cobra

!Law Enforcement Best Practices

!Freeland Foundation

Regional Dialogue on Preventing Illegal Logging and Trading of Siamese Rosewood Bangkok, December 2014

Freeland in conjunction with partners and the ARREST Program have developed a number of pro-active approaches to protect natural

resources in the wild through enforcement training and park support projects, as well as training and awareness activities for law enforcement officials from Wildlife and Forest Departments, Police, Customs, Prosecutors and Judges

!The Freeland training team is comprised of experienced

foreign and local instructors, experts who are ex-serving or serving officers from the police, military and forestry agencies.

Video

PROTECT  –  Enforcement

PROTECT  –  Marine

PROTECT  –  Border

PROTECT  –  Team  Leader

PROTECT  –  Manager

• Available in English, Thai, Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese, and Bahasa Indonesia – African languages soon.

• Developed under USAID-funded ARREST Program

• Based on ACB-Standards for Protected Area Jobs

PROTECT  –  Special  Response  Group

PROTECT Training for Protected Area staff

DETECT - Investigations Detection of Environmental Crimes Training

Two-week competency based training

!Instructs investigators from

police, customs, forestry and other agencies how to investigate violations of wildlife crime.

King of Tigers and use of new and standard technology

Images from the 8-week PROTECT-Special Response Group training course, which included hands-on forest, marine, and investigations training. The course was followed up by “Operation Bloodwood”, an ongoing operation against rosewood poaching.

A sample screenshot of an enforcement quick-reporting screen from the FIST Gather smartphone app (left); Images of FIST being tested by the DNP’s King of Tigers group during a special response group training course (above); Freeland training and Kestrel staff observe FIST field reports using the FIST FusionPortal (right).

Field Information Support Tool

Spatial Monitoring and

Reporting Tool (SMART)

One existing operating mechanism to facilitate law enforcement cooperation is the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, this has a

Program Coordination Unit (PCU) to facilitate exchange of information and a Law Enforcement Extension Office (LEEO)

!Under ASEAN-WEN ToR

Membership of the Network is open to officials from CITES Management Authorities, Customs,

police, prosecutors, specialized governmental wildlife-law enforcement organizations and other relevant national law enforcement agencies.

That ASEAN-WEN national focal points will facilitate the exchange, between and among themselves and other relevant non-ASEAN law enforcement agencies to the extent allowed by national laws, of all the intelligence relating to violations of CITES and

relevant national legislation in their possession that they consider appropriate to send and will provide assistance and information that may be required to locate and apprehend

individuals responsible for violating the relevant national laws of a Member Country.

DETECT Managers !

Special Investigation Group

Special Investigation Group – history and process

DETECT Managers Special Investigation Group

January 2009 !•ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network’s (ASEAN-WEN) Special Investigations Group (SIG) on Pangolins and Big Cats

Special Investigation Group

October 2010 !•SIG expanded to include ASEAN-WEN, SA-WEN, LATF •Ivory and Rhino included

October 2010 !•SIG participants mapped the ivory trade routes, networks, source, transit and destination countries

Special Investigation Group

June 2012 !•SIG met in Nanning, China to discuss future cooperative efforts

October 2012 !• ASEAN-WEN, SA-WEN, LATF, NICE-CG agree to initiate “Operation Cobra”

Special Investigation Group

DETECT Managers Operation Cobra I

• 6,500kg elephant ivory • 1,550kg shatoosh • 22 rhino horns and 4 rhino horn

carvings • 10 tiger and 7 leopard trophies • 42,000kg red sander wood • 2,600 live snakes • 324 hornbill beaks • 102 pangolins & 800 kgs pangolin

scales • 31kg elephant meat

DETECT Managers SIG March 2013

• A joint investigation from the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenya Police visited Singapore from 20th -27th July 2013.

• The team worked with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore to collect more evidence and repatriate a total of 1099 pieces of elephant tusks weighing 1848.5kg to Kenya.

• The repatriation is carried out in compliance with the provisions of the CITES and is the second repatriation coordinated by LATF.

Operation Cobra I Follow-up Investigation

Next came Cobra II

28 countries !

Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF), China, USA, South Africa, ASEAN-WEN, SA-WEN, Botswana, Brunei-Darussalam, Burundi, Cambodia, China including Hong Kong SAR, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, USA, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe

DETECT Managers Operation Cobra II

Seizures •33 rhino horns •Over 2 metric tons of elephant tusks •Over 10,000 turtles •Over 1,000 skins of protected species •Several tons of rosewood logs

DETECT Managers Operation Cobra II

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• Coordination of LATF and China to arrest and deport a wildlife smuggler kingpin from Kenya to China for prosecution

• Interception of an illegal shipment of 110 tons of rosewood logs in Tanzania from Madagascar based on intelligence provided by ICCWC partners

• The seizure and repatriation of 2,700 confiscated pig-nose turtles from Hong Kong SAR to Indonesia based on tip off information and logistical support from NGOs

• Collection of samples from the confiscated ivory in Uganda for DNA analysis and profiling

DETECT Managers Operation Cobra II

• Destruction of 6.15 tons confiscated ivory in China

• Analysis of wildlife seizures information by WCO

• Secondment of Chinese wildlife enforcement officers at LATF

• Providing training to the Chinese community in Kenya

DETECT Managers Operation Cobra II

Seizure Congo

• Arrested at Mayamaya IA while leaving Brazzaville by Ethiopian Airline from Brazzaville  to Addis Ababa) and continue by flight from Addis Ababa to HANG ZHOU.

Theotimos  Rwegasira,  LATF,  “Operation  Cobra  II  Regional  Updates  Africa”  Presented  DETECT  Managers  SIGN,  ILEA,  Bangkok,  Thailand.  Oct.  21,  2014

Successful Prosecution Kenya • The killing of endangered

animals now carries penalties of life imprisonment, as well as fines of up to 20m Kenya shillings!!

• The first person to be sentenced under the new Kenya Wildlife law, which came into force in January 2014!

• Chinese ivory smuggler (3.4kg)  in a suitcase, at JKIA transiting from Mozambique to China was jailed 7yrs after failing to pay US$ 230,000 fine in Jan 2014

Theotimos  Rwegasira,  LATF,  “Operation  Cobra  II  Regional  Updates  Africa”  Presented  DETECT  Managers  SIGN,  ILEA,  Bangkok,  Thailand.  Oct.  21,  2014

Successful Prosecution Tanzania !• Chinese ivory smuggler (303kg)

arrested during Cobra II was jailed for 20 yrs after failed to pay US$ 6M, March 2014!

!!

• In Tanzania the offence of unlawful possession of Government Trophies is categorized as Economic Crime. Up on conviction the penalty is imprisonment term ranging from seven to thirty years

Theotimos  Rwegasira,  LATF,  “Operation  Cobra  II  Regional  Updates  Africa”  Presented  DETECT  Managers  SIGN,  ILEA,  Bangkok,  Thailand.  Oct.  21,  2014

Follow-up seizures Tanzania • On 30th March 2014, – 53 elephant !tusks (169.7 kg) were seized, 4 rifles !including SMG and 195 rounds of !ammunition recovered !!

• Five (5) suspect arrested. Case ongoing

Theotimos  Rwegasira,  LATF,  “Operation  Cobra  II  Regional  Updates  Africa”  Presented  DETECT  Managers  SIGN,  ILEA,  Bangkok,  Thailand.  Oct.  21,  2014

China – Africa sting operation in Nairobi, Kenya

• Nov. 2013: 3 Chinese smuggled 1,226 pieces of ivory beads weighing 8.77 kg into China from Kenya. Interrogation revealed king pins in Nairobi.!

• Dec, 2013: China NICECG shared intelligence with LATF. !!

• LATF and KWS launched a manhunt for the 3 kingpins and managed to locate their hideout in Nairobi !

• During the operation 2 suspects fled Kenya but were arrested in China upon landing at Beijing!

• Main smuggler arrested next day in Nairobi in possession of 55 pcs worked ivory, 2 leopard skins, 6 lion teeth and 16 fake passports.

Challenges

• Almost 70 countries were invited, but only 40% participated • 50% participating countries did not share intelligence or seizure

information during the operation • Follow-up investigations are seldom undertaken in many countries • Penalties for wildlife offences in many countries are low • Inter-agency coordination and cooperation in many countries is

poor • Wildlife law enforcement is restricted significantly by lacking of

financial resources in most of the participating countries.

June 2014 !Kenya, Tanzania and LATF meet in China to exchange information and follow up on the organized wildlife crime group smuggling ivory from Kenya to China

Operation Cobra II Follow-up Investigation

DETECT Managers Special Investigation Group

!Operation Cobra II Follow Up and

Planning Session October 2014

DETECT Managers Special Investigation Group

46 Participants from China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, Europe and the USA came together to plan Operation Cobra III

DETECT Managers Special Investigation Group

!!Next steps;

Rosewood SIG Date: March 30th to April 3rd, 2015

Location: Possibly ILEA (International Law Enforcement Academy, Bangkok)

Thank You !

Questions?

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