Mekong - U.S. Partnership
From October 29-31, forty-three Thai law enforcement officers took part in a wildlife trafficking investigations training course in Bangkok, Thailand. Organized criminal syndicates profiting from illegal wildlife trade are becoming more sophisticated creating the need for advanced training on detecting wildlife trafficking.
The training exposed officers, prosecutors and investigators to the methods commonly used by wildlife traffickers in smuggling schemes as well as in other crimes such as drug and human trafficking. The training included a national legal overview from the Thai Attorney General’s Office, a regional overview on wildlife crime in southeast Asia from ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (WEN) and a global perspective on wildlife crime from INTERPOL ensuring the participants’ exposure to all levels of wildlife trafficking.
The course was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) directorate, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Freeland, the implementing partner of the USAID-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) program. Funding for the training was provided by U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
