Interpol seeks public help in catching environmental criminals

PanARMENIAN.Net - Interpol has launched its first ever appeal for public help in catching nine fugitives suspected of environmental crimes costing hundreds of millions of dollars and catapulting the issue to the forefront of international law enforcement, the Guardian reports.

The nine suspects are wanted for a list of crimes ranging from mass illegal logging in Indonesia to rhinoceros poaching in Swaziland and the trafficking of two tonnes of ivory in Kenya.

Stefano Carvelli, the head of Interpol’s fugitive investigative support unit, said that the offences were only the tip of the iceberg of an environmental crime wave, which agency reports have estimated to be worth $70bn-$213bn annually.

“If we talk about illegal logging, we have many pending cases,” he said. “We also have many serious biodiversity cases. The problem is very big, I can feel it. These are crimes with many, many different parameters.”

A joint Interpol-UNEP report earlier this year linked the revenues from environmental crime to extremist militias such as the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda, the Janjaweed in Sudan and al-Shabaab in Somalia.

While sources say there are indications connecting some of the fugitives under investigation to terrorist groups, Interpol will officially neither confirm nor deny them.

The law enforcement agency stresses that members of the public should report any sightings of the fugitives to Interpol or their national police force, and not approach them directly.

“We consider all of these people to be dangerous, especially because the nature of these crimes required the involvement of organized criminal networks,” Carvelli said.

The public appeal follows an inquiry by 23 officers into the whereabouts of 139 suspects wanted by 36 countries. The investigation has been code-named Operation Infra-Terra.

Since its launch last month, Operation Infra-Terra has raised the profile of Interpol’s environmental crimes unit, which focuses on illegal exploitation of the world’s flora and fauna, and hazardous waste dumping.

Past Interpol public appeals have focused on themes like fugitives in the Americas, and led to over 600 arrests. Officers working on Operation Infra-Terra now hope for similar results.