Overview
The Wildlife and Environmental Crimes Unit (WECU) coordinates with public and private partners to enhance HSI’s investigative expertise, and to provide analytical support for domestic and international field offices. The WECU also aspires to develop the next generation of criminal investigators and analysts needed to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations engaged in crimes against nature. HSI enforces federal laws and regulations intended to protect air, land, and water resources by targeting the illegal importation and exportation of natural resources, hazardous materials, and ozone depleting substances (ODS). The WECU facilitates investigations targeting the importation of illegally obtained or protected flora and fauna, to include marine species; environmentally hazardous materials and chemicals; refrigerants identified under the 1987 Montreal Protocol for phase out; and unapproved or non-compliant automobiles, machinery, and other equipment. HSI agents utilize extensive customs statutes, Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act authorities, and bi-lateral Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements (CMAAs) to pursue prosecutions of wildlife trafficking and other environmental crimes. The WECU works diligently with U.S. and foreign government agencies, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, and academia to combat natural resource trafficking and environmental crimes.
Statistics
As part of the IPR Center’s digital piracy initiative, In Our Sites, HSI-Baltimore special agents seized 71 separate internet domains in December 2022 for live streaming World Cup matches, an infringement of Fédération Internationale de Football Association copyrights. These seizures were the result of Operation Offsides, a joint investigation between the IPR Center, HSI-Baltimore, the Department of Justice (DOJ) International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Offices, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Last year, more than 180,000 counterfeit sports-related items worth an estimated $22.7 million were seized as part of Operation Team Player, a collaborative public-private sector operation targeting international shipments of counterfeit merchandise into the United States with brand owners and e-commerce marketplaces.
Resources
These are what consumers should know about:
- Money-laundering-and-illegal-wildlife-trade.pdf (fatf-gafi.org)
- Money-Laundering-from-Environmental-Crime.pdf (fatf-gafi.org)
These are what industry should know about:
- Tips for New Importers and Exporters | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov)
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule (usitc.gov)
Impact
In 2023, HSI obtained funding from Congress to create the Wildlife and Environmental Crimes Unit (WECU). The legislation expressly stated that this appropriation is a “critical investment to protect the economy, environment, and to assist in disrupting the flow of resources that support other illicit conduct,” namely transnational organized crime. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2020 World Wildlife Crime Report, Trafficking in Protected Species: “…trafficking of wild fauna and flora has grown in importance in the public consciousness and has risen on the political agenda, as it becomes clear that wildlife crime has negative implications for climate change, preservation of biodiversity, security, and public health.” Similarly, a March 2017 report from Global Financial Integrity, “Transnational Crime and the Developing World,” found that transnational crimes like illegal logging, illegal fishing, and illegal wildlife trade generate an average of up to $156 billion, $36.4 billion, $23 billion respectively each year. Public-Private partnerships are a key element in the HSI strategy to combat transnational wildlife and environmental crimes. The WECU is actively seeking to develop collaborative relationships with highly regarded private entities, as well as with academic programs that have a role to play in the global fight to end illegal trade in natural resources or environmentally hazardous goods.
Call-to-Action
The growth of international trade and permeable borders have increased the risk of border security compromises, threats to national security, and economic crime. Wildlife, fishing, and forestry crimes not only lay waste to the populations of critical species with cascading effects that disorder entire biological communities, but these crimes also push some species to extinction. The business of trafficking, whether it be flora, fauna, or environmentally hazardous substances, destabilizes national security, encourages corruption, inhibits economic development, and undermines the rule of law. The illicit trade in some prized flora and fauna has become so exceptionally lucrative, certain derivative products exceed the value of gold, heroin, or cocaine.
Current Trends
HSI Investigates Animal Cruelty Cases
HSI Investigates Smuggling of Illegal Pesticides Used in Unregulated Marijuana Cultivations
HSI Investigates OFAC Sanctioned Entities
HSI has initiated criminal investigations into sanctioned parties engaged in multiple conflict zones and generating millions from wildlife and timber smuggling; illegal mining; and financial crimes.
Sanctions Programs and Country Information | Office of Foreign Assets Control (treasury.gov)
Sanctions List Search (treas.gov)
Programs
The Environmental Crimes Program
The Environmental Crimes Program seeks to defend natural resources from degradation due to illicit activities and actively pursues civil penalties and criminal charges against individuals, businesses, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) which profit from these types of crimes. The program is actively engaged in a wide variety of enforcement activities in support of these objectives including interdiction of banned pesticides, ozone depleting substances, and non-compliant vehicles and machinery, as well as the investigation of illegal waste transportation and certain crimes stemming from illegal mining of precious metals.
The Wildlife Crimes Program
The Wildlife Crimes Program combats the illegal importation and exportation of wildlife in contravention of federal, state, local, tribal, or foreign law. The program defends U.S. and international fauna populations by capitalizing on HSI’s exclusive enforcement powers and wide-ranging authorities, at and beyond the border, to investigate incidents of transnational or cross-border wildlife crimes. The program further relies on relationships with other governmental and non-governmental organizations, academia, and other stakeholders to build upon the vital mission of wildlife conservation and the targeting of individuals and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) who seek to threaten that mission.
The Marine Life Crimes Program
The Marine Life Crimes Program seeks to target the diverse criminal schemes perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations involved in the illicit acquisition, transportation, and sale of marine species, as well as the associated illicit financial activity. This program, through the use of HSI’s expansive investigative authorities and international footprint, collaborates with stakeholders engaged in disrupting the demand for ill-gotten marine species that contribute to both environmental and economic damage.
The Forestry Crimes Program
The Forestry Crimes Program supports the fight against illegal logging from the level of individual poaching events to massive, industrial-scale deforestation around the world enabled by corruption and organized crime. Sometimes referred to as ILAT (Illegal Logging and Associated Trade), illegal timber frequently travels from remote forests across the planet through a series of complex logistical and financial transactions before being sold to unsuspecting end users in the U.S. and abroad. HSI’s expertise in cross-border financial investigations and customs fraud makes HSI a critical partner in this important field.