Interpol Launches Global Crackdown on Forest Crime Networks

International police organization Interpol has unveiled an ambitious new initiative to combat the criminal networks profiting billions of dollars annually from illegal deforestation. The global law enforcement effort, announced Wednesday in Bogotá, Colombia, targets illegal logging operations, timber trafficking rings, and illicit gold mining that devastate the world’s tropical forests.

The program will concentrate on five biodiversity hotspots: Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Peru. “Criminals are making billions by looting the planet’s forests,” warned Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza. “The only way to stop them is through determined law enforcement action and strong international cooperation.” The initiative comes at a critical time, launched just ahead of the U.N. COP30 climate summit in Brazil.

This enhanced phase of the Law Enforcement Assistance Program represents a partnership between Interpol and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, with funding from Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative. The announcement gained momentum following a successful Amazon crackdown last week, where Brazilian police destroyed over 270 illegal mining dredges on the Madeira River, dealing a major blow to gold-smuggling networks spanning Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru.

The program addresses a growing environmental crisis where organized crime groups exploit weak governance to strip forests for profit, undermining both ecosystems and local communities. By coordinating international intelligence and law enforcement resources, authorities hope to disrupt these lucrative criminal enterprises that threaten some of Earth’s most critical carbon-storing ecosystems.