FEDERAL AGENTS TARGET ILLEGAL BIRD TRADE
The successsful break-up of an international smuggling ring dealing in protected birds and other wildlife was announced today by the U.S. Customs Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The three-year investigation, code-named Operation Jungle Trade, spotlights this country's continuing pursuit of those who traffic in wild-caught bird species whose plights are of major international conservation concern.
Operation Jungle Trade, which culminated yesterday with the execution of Federal arrest and search-and-seizure warrants in Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas, produced 40 arrests and/or indictments and the seizure of more than 660 exotic birds and other animals, most of them native Mexican species that can only be exported from that country with appropriate authorizing documents. Trade in many of these species is controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a global agreement that regulates the importation and exportation of hundreds of animals and plants.
The smuggling ring, which operated across the U.S.-Mexico border, extended into nine states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 10 other countries: Australia, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ghana, Honduras, New Zealand, Panama, and South Africa.
Customs and Fish and Wildlife Service agents worked with law enforcement officers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Panama to document criminal activity and gather evidence, carrying out more than 40 separate but related investigations here and abroad.
"Operation Jungle Trade exemplifies the type of aggressive, across-the-board law enforcement that must be our global response to the escalating traffic in protected species," said Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "This Customs-led joint operation clearly demonstrates the United States' commitment to wildlife conservation."
"The Service's participation in Operation Jungle Trade is part of the agency's ongoing effort to stop the illegal trade in wild birds," Clark said. Service special agents helped carry out the final round of multi-state search and arrest warrants and provided investigative support and assistance throughout the course of the investigation. Customs officers also depended on the Service for guidance concerning Federal wildlife laws and proper care of the animals seized.
The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year global "business" that threatens the future viability of the world's wildlife. Wild-caught birds, including parrots and macaws, are a prime target for this black market. Many species are highly prized by collectors and other people who seek exotic pets, making them highly profitable commodities for wildlife smugglers.
"We successfully targeted a portion of this trade with a major multi-year international probe earlier in the decade," Clark said. "At that time, we were seeing large numbers of African birds being smuggled out of their homelands and ' laundered ' through other countries for exportation to the United States. Now traffic in Latin
Go To Page: 1 2
