Illicit waste trafficking and trafficking in endangered species were both mentioned in Europol’s Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment. Crime groups are attracted to environmental crime due to its low-risk, high-reward nature.
The economic downturn has seen unscrupulous businesses have turned to organized crime to dispose of their waste. For the crime groups, who do not abide by regulatory standards for waste transport or disposal, the deals are extremely lucrative. Waste is trafficked through the European Union to ports, where it is then sent mostly to Africa and Asia for disposal. Waste trafficking has serious consequences that can damage public health. Long-term damage can sometimes necessitate costly clean-up efforts, the report said.
Specialized crime groups have also become involved in trafficking in endangered species, Europol said. This claim is echoed by a report by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which claims that elephant poaching levels are at their highest point in a decade, with 2011 being the “worst year ever for large ivory seizures.” Organized crime groups are also involved in great ape trafficking, according to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). Great apes are explicitly protected as endangered species under CITES. UNEP estimates over 3,000 great apes are lost to trafficking annually.
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