Almost 20,000 endangered or protected live animals were seized during Operation Thunder – a concerted effort led by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
The 2,213 seizures made during this operation included pangolins, primates, birds, big cats, and reptiles, plus “hundreds of thousands of protected animal parts and derivatives, trees, plants, marine life and arthropods.”
From November 11 to December 6, Operation Thunder exposed six international crime networks that allegedly trafficked protected flora and fauna.
The operation was unique in that “138 countries and regions” collaborated across various agencies. In total, 365 arrests were made.
Some notable finds include the discovery of over 5,000 live red-eared slider turtles hidden in luggage at an airport in India, eight juvenile tigers at an illicit breeding center in the Czech Republic, and 6,500 live songbirds in a vehicle in Syria.
Lady Freethinker commends this global effort by INTERPOL and WCO that resulted in the rescue of so many innocent animals. We hope this work demonstrates the need for enforcement actors to treat this issue with the severity it deserves.
