Interpol crackdown on illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking leads to 233 arrests
Investigators also traced suspected profit networks, shell companies and foreign buyers behind the environmental destruction.
- Operation Madre Tierra VIII, an international crackdown across Latin America and the Caribbean, led to 233 arrests during a two-month operation from June 1 to July 31, Interpol said Wednesday.
- Environmental crime has become increasingly intertwined with organized crime across Latin America, as illicit mining, logging, and trafficking exploit the same financial networks and routes used for other commodities.
- Authorities identified some 60,000 hectares of illegally cleared forest and recovered more than 1,000 live animals. Officials seized 165 kilograms of shark fins worth $280,000 and 4.6 metric tons of cyanide.
- Interpol intelligence uncovered links to 161 companies and 65 people across continents, while Colombian authorities arrested 16 suspects and seized digital evidence. Investigators found suspected permit fraud and shell company use.
- "These cases demonstrate the transnational nature of environmental crime," said Thomas Ungerbuehler, Interpol's assistant director of environmental security. Krandall Gullock, head of Interpol's Regional Bureau for Central America, noted that following money moves investigations beyond individual harvesters.
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Interpol crackdown exposes Amazon deforestation links to global companies
Interpol's latest Latin America operation led to 233 arrests and exposed cross-border company links to Amazon deforestation. The probe shows how illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking depend on global financial networks.
Associated Press News
Interpol crackdown on illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking leads to 233 arrests
Interpol has announced a major crackdown on environmental crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, leading to 233 arrests.
Paris.- A total of 233 people were arrested, more than 1,000 animals rescued and some 60,000 hectares of forest identified as illegally deforested during an operation against environmental crimes in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries, Interpol reported on Wednesday. Named Mother Earth VIII, the operation took place between June 1 [...] The entry Arrested 233 people in an international operation against environmental crimes in Latin Amer…
An international offensive against environmental crimes in Latin America and the Caribbean led to 233 arrests and exposed links between large-scale deforestation in the Amazon and companies from several continents, Interpol reported on Wednesday.
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