Posted on November, 11 2015

The largest ever international law enforcement operation against wildlife crime resulted in the detention of 300 suspected poachers and traffickers, including some usually untouchable kingpins. Regarded as a major success, Operation COBRA III was coordinated across 62 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and America in May, and was
supported by international agencies, such as INTERPOL and Europol. Among the 600 illegal shipments seized around the globe were 12 tonnes of ivory and 119 rhino horns. The scale of the operation highlights the seriousness of organized wildlife crime as well as the growing political will to tackle it. TRAFFIC supported the operation by providing information directly to help countries target major wildlife criminals.