Environmental crimes such as illegal logging, trade in endangered species, illegal fishing, and trade in banned refrigerants are rampant and growing, according to a report from the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency. Organized-crime networks are raking in over $10 billion a year through commission of environmental crimes, and national and international police organizations are doing little to stop them, the report charges. “Even if we bring intelligence to the attention of authorities, often the political will is not there,” said EIA’s Debbie Banks. “We really need to see environmental crime treated as seriously as narcotics and arms. At the moment, that’s not happening.” Some of the recent growth in environmental crimes is due in part to “the proliferation of international and regional environmental agreements, [which lead] to more controls on a range of commodities,” the report says. “It is also due to mutations in the operations of criminal syndicates which have been diversifying their operations into new areas like counterfeiting and environmental crime.”
