7 October 2014: INTERPOL has announced the establishment of a dedicated team to address wildlife crime in Africa. The team will also support the activities of INTERPOL’s Project Wisdom, which combats elephant and rhinoceros poaching and illegal trade in ivory through the financial support of the Wildcat Foundation.

Located within the INTERPOL Regional Bureau for East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, the environmental crime team will act as an extension of INTERPOL’s Environmental Security unit located at its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France. The team will collaborate with national law enforcement agencies and INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in the region to boost information exchange, support intelligence analysis and assist national and regional investigations, with a particular focus on wildlife crime.

David Higgins, Head, INTERPOL Environmental Security unit, said the establishment of the environmental crime team will enable INTERPOL, through its Project Wisdom, to provide continuous investigative and analytical support to East African member countries concerning significant transnational wildlife trafficking cases, and to assist with planning operations targeting the organized criminal networks behind these crimes.

INTERPOL announced the establishment of the environmental crime team during an event hosted by the Australian High Commission in Kenya. Australia is a key partner and works with INTERPOL on the prevention of wildlife crime in Africa. [INTERPOL News]