VZCZCXRO3836
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHBK #2963/01 3241047
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201047Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9027
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7715
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0505
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 7535
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0329
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0338
RUEHOR/AMEMBASSY GABORONE 0214
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0067
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0521
RHHMUNS/COMSOCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002963 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
EAP FOR AWYCKOFF; OES FOR CDAWSON, HSUMMERS; USAID EGAT FOR JWILSON, 
MMELNYK; MTS/MLS FOR DESKOFFS; INTERIOR FOR USFWS; USDA FOR USFS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAID TH
SUBJECT: ASEAN WILDLIFE NETWORK SCORES WITH AFRICAN IVORY BUST 
 
REF: Kathmandu 1002 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: In an important step forward against wildlife 
trafficking, the Royal Thai Police arrested two ivory traffickers on 
November 16 in Bangkok.  The arrests came after a year-long joint 
investigation involving U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Royal 
Thai Police and the USG-supported ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network 
(ASEAN WEN).  While there has been a string of impressive seizures 
of ivory products, these are the first arrests of major traffickers 
in Thailand, a key transit country for wildlife trafficking.  The 
ring involved importation of African elephant ivory into Thailand, 
then shipment on to the U.S.  Through USG-supported law enforcement 
training events, ASEAN WEN has built a network of law enforcement 
officers and built capacity throughout the region.  Post welcomes 
OES programming plans that increases cooperation between regional 
drug and wildlife trafficking programs, and seeks to link and South 
and Southeast Asian wildlife trafficking efforts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
THE BUST - IVORY FROM AFRICA TO THAILAND TO THE U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶2. (SBU) ASEAN WEN has been behind a series of recent seizures 
involving cooperative law enforcement among Thailand, Malaysia, 
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.  African Ivory trade (internationally 
banned since 1989) has increasingly involved SE Asia.  In 2008, Thai 
Customs seized two tons of African elephant ivory, Philippines 
Customs seized 3.5 tons (from Tanzania) and Vietnam Customs seized 
over 8 tons.  As with many illegal trafficking industries, seizures 
and low level arrests have historically proven easier than capturing 
the kingpins.  This year, however, there were notable arrests in 
Vietnam, Indonesia and now in Thailand.  On November 16, the Royal 
Thai police arrested Thai operators of a ring smuggling African 
tusks and carved ivory from Thailand to the U.S.  The arrests 
attracted extensive print, television and web media coverage. 
Forensic testing of ivory purchases made from the suspects showed 
that the ivory was of African elephant origin.  The investigation 
involved cooperation among the Royal Thai Police, Customs and the 
Attorney General, and on the U.S. side the Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement Customs and Border 
Protection.  USAID supported the travel of a Royal Thai Police 
officer and an interpreter to the United States to interview 
witnesses with USFWS special agents.  Law enforcement investigations 
into the U.S. connection are ongoing. 
 
WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING AND ASEAN WEN 
---------------------------------- 
¶3. (U) Wildlife trafficking is often described as the (even if 
distant) third greatest illegal trade after arms and drugs; the 
global wildlife market is estimated to be worth $10 to 30 billion 
annually.  Southeast Asia's high species biodiversity has made the 
region a prime source for trafficking wildlife -largely to China for 
medicinal purposes and to the U.S. for collectors.  Some ASEAN 
nations are source countries, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, 
Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia; some are transit countries such 
as Thailand and Singapore.  In addition to biodiversity loss, as 
traffickers target the most endangered species, trafficking brings 
invasive species into the U.S. (such as the plague of Burmese 
Pythons in the Everglades) and undermines law enforcement generally 
as criminal gangs organize across borders.  After ASEAN nations 
agreed to launch ASEAN WEN, Thailand took the lead in 2006 by 
hosting ASEAN WEN headquarters with help from a State/OES grant. 
USAID Regional Development Mission Asia now supports the ASEAN WEN 
secretariat through the Freeland Foundation. 
 
POLICE NETWORKING AND U.S. SPECIAL AGENTS 
----------------------------------------- 
¶4. (U) The Thai arrests were the culmination of unprecedented joint 
U.S./ASEAN WEN/Freeland and Thai collaboration.  USAID-supported 
Freeland has conducted numerous training workshops for law 
enforcement and protected area officers over the past year, 
including a joint Thai/Laotian training course that included forest 
police observers from two Indian states.  In January, ASEAN law 
enforcement officials joined a networking workshop at the 
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok.  Former 
 
BANGKOK 00002963  002 OF 002 
 
 
U.S. Special Agents working for Freeland trained ASEAN officers, 
with the help of INTERPOL officials.  At this ILEA course, police 
officers shared intelligence on leads and developed communication 
protocols and other tools.  This networking led to successful 
seizures throughout the year in a number of the countries.  In 
addition, a parallel organization, the NGO Wildlife Enforcement 
Network (ENV), got started with an EAP/OES small environmental 
grant.   NGO ENV publishes a newsletter to connect NGO conservation 
data and field knowledge of trafficking patterns to the police. 
 
THE NEXT LEVEL - GLOBAL WEN 
--------------------------- 
¶5. (U) As an organization, ASEAN WEN is still developing and needs 
to migrate to a system less dependent on USG assistance.  The WEN 
may nevertheless provide a useful model for other regions and for 
global networking.  Post sees as useful a planned OES grant will to 
connect the Wildlife Enforcement Networks of South Asia (a major 
source for trafficking via SE Asia to China) and the Americas with 
ASEAN WEN to help to connect South and Southeast Asian law 
enforcement entities; there have been demonstrated trafficking 
patterns from South to Southeast Asia and to China.  Freeland 
Foundation has already been successful in gaining the interest of 
Indian state enforcement officials to observe ASEAN WEN training. 
The Nepalese Environment Ministry has just agreed to host South Asia 
WEN and has asked Freeland to organize donor support.  The Thai 
Environment Minister and ASEAN-WEN are now working with the World 
Bank's Global Tiger Initiative, and after the successful Kathmandu 
meeting (Reftel), Thailand will host a Ministerial on Tiger 
conservation and trafficking in January 2010. 
 
¶6. (U) Comment: As the home to ILEA, the regional INPERPOL office, 
and a host of regional law enforcement attaches, Bangkok is uniquely 
positioned to be the locus for anti-trafficking efforts in this part 
of the world.  In addition to providing support for ASEAN-WEN, the 
Embassy is working to enlist Thailand in the Coalition Against 
Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT), which works to galvanize global support 
to combat trafficking.  Several EAP ESTH officers have been active 
in working with OES, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and USTR in 
outreach for the 2008 Lacey Act Amendments and to engage ASEAN 
nations to work with us in combating both plant and animal 
trafficking.  The World Wildlife Fund is also active in supporting 
Thailand's national network with training and collaboration with the 
Royal Thai Police and Military.  Other ASEAN members have national 
WEN in various stages of development with encouragement from NGOs 
and DOS ESTHoffs at posts.  Post views favorably an ongoing OES 
grant to UN Office of Drug Control to integrate ASEAN WEN successes 
with UNODC's Border Liaison Posts to help deter all transnational 
illegal trafficking. 
 
POINTS OF CONTACT 
----------------- 
¶8. (U) For press releases and background information on ASEAN WEN 
and RDMA's Wildlife programs, visit www.asean-wen.org; 
www.freeland.org; and www.usaid.gov/rdma.  The NGO Wildlife network 
can be viewed at www.env.org.  Points of contact are Hal Howard, 
Regional ESTH Hub officer, howardhh@state.gov and Winston Bowman, 
Director of RDMA Environmental Office, wbowman@usaid.gov.