Interpol går nu til biddet og udsender global efterlysning af ni personer på flugt, som mistænkes for alt fra ulovligt fiskeri og rovhugst til handel med sjældne dyr – naturforkæmpere fryder sig over den optrappede kamp mod miljø-forbrydelser.
The trade in wildlife crime, alone, is said to be worth around 213 billion (milliarder) US dollar (1,27 billioner DKR) per annum, according to the UN.
This is the first time that individuals have been targeted, BBC online writes Monday. The new initiative is called “Operation Infra Terra”.
Investigators from 21 countries gathered at Interpol’s headquarters in France in October to share information on suspects involved in a range of crimes involving the environment.
Some of those named are
* Feisal Mohammed Ali, who is sought in connection with the seizure of 314 ivory pieces, weighing well over two tonnes in Mombasa, Kenya in June.
*Ahmed Kamran who was charged with an attempt to smuggle over 100 live animals, including giraffes and impalas, to Qatar on a military plane.
* Nicolaas Duindam is wanted for his role in a criminal organization trafficking wildlife from Brazil
* Ariel Bustamante Sanchez is alleged to have been involved in illegal tuna fishing in protected waters off Costa Rica.
Læs mere på http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49361#.VGsuimV1T4s
The move has been welcomed by Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):
“Countries are increasingly treating wildlife crime as a serious offence, and we will leave no stone unturned to locate and arrest these criminals to ensure that they are brought to justice,” said Ben Janse van Rensburg from CITES to BBC.
Member of the public who have any information on the possible location of the fugitives can use a special form to contact Interpol – go to http://www.interpol.int/Forms/Wanted_persons
Information can also be given anonymously to any national crime stoppers programme.
