BOGOTA (COLOMBIA): An international crackdown on environmental crime across Latin America and the Caribbean led to 233 arrests and uncovered links between large-scale Amazon deforestation and companies across several continents, the international police organisation Interpol said Wednesday.
The two-month operation targeted illegal logging, gold mining and wildlife trafficking across nine countries, identifying some 60,000 hectares (148,000 acres) of illegally cleared forest -- an area 10 times the size of Manhattan Island.
But investigators increasingly focused beyond the people cutting trees, mining gold or trafficking animals to the companies, financial networks and international buyers suspected of profiting from environmental destruction.
In one investigation originating in Colombia, authorities had identified 11 foreign companies suspected of involvement in clearing more than 52,000 hectares (128,500 acres) of protected Amazon forest. Interpol said intelligence gathered during the latest operation uncovered links to another 161 companies and 65 people across several continents.
Investigators found suspected permit fraud and the alleged use of shell companies and foreign investment mechanisms, Interpol said. Colombian authorities arrested 16 people and seized digital evidence, while Interpol issued international notices seeking information or action involving suspects linked to the network.
“Following the money, whether from an illegal gold mine in Panama to a buyer in North America, Europe or Asia, helps a case move beyond the individuals physically harvesting the timber, handling the animal or extracting the gold,” Krandall Gullock, head of Interpol's Regional Bureau for Central America, said in a statement.
Environmental crime has become increasingly intertwined with organised crime across Latin America, particularly in remote forest regions where illegal mining, logging and wildlife trafficking can exploit the same routes and financial networks used for other illicit commodities. Gold is particularly attractive to criminal groups because of its high value, portability and ease of sale. Illegal mining has expanded across parts of the Amazon as gold prices have risen, driving deforestation and contaminating rivers with mercury and other toxic substances.
In August, The Associated Press accompanied Peruvian security forces raiding illegal gold mines advancing into the Tambopata National Reserve in the Amazon. Authorities there are increasingly trying to target not only mining equipment but the financial networks behind the operations, as miners frequently return after raids.
Earlier this year, nearly 200 people were arrested in the first coordinated cross-border operation targeting illegal gold mining involving Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname. Authorities seized gold, cash, mercury, firearms and mining equipment.
The latest Interpol operation underscored the scale of the chemicals feeding the trade. In Costa Rica, authorities seized about 4.6 metric tons of cyanide and 11 containers of mercury, both used in gold extraction. Mercury is highly toxic and can contaminate rivers, wildlife and people, while cyanide can also cause severe environmental damage if improperly handled or released.
The crackdown, known as Operation Madre Tierra VIII, ran from June 1 to July 31 and involved Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. More than 330 cases were reported, with 312 people identified as suspected of involvement in environmental crimes.
It follows a similar Interpol operation last year that resulted in 225 arrests and uncovered more than 400 environmental crimes, including illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, mining and pollution.
Wildlife trafficking was another major focus this year. Authorities recovered more than 1,000 live animals, including endangered Bengal tigers, lions, jaguars, ocelots, parrots and macaws. Some were found along routes also used by criminal networks to move drugs and other illicit goods, Interpol said.
Authorities also seized 165 kilograms of dried shark fins worth an estimated USD 280,000.
“These cases demonstrate the transnational nature of environmental crime, with biodiversity-rich countries increasingly targeted as sources of high-value commodities destined for illicit markets around the world,” said Thomas Ungerbuehler, Interpol's assistant director of environmental security.