Kemenhut Shifts Strategy to Disrupt Wildlife Trade Networks

Kementerian Kehutanan is pushing for a change in law enforcement strategy against illegal trade in wildlife and plants by targeting the main actors and the economic gains behind the crime. The approach was chosen because wildlife trade is seen as having grown into a cross-sector organized crime, making it insufficient to handle only the people caught in the field. Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho said a multidoor approach is needed so efforts can reach corruption, taxation, customs and the financial services sector. He said law enforcement must also shift from merely prosecuting offenders to cutting off economic profit, recovering assets and strengthening proof based on forensic science.