Making The World Safer For Wildlife
This National Geographic Article and interview with Freeland founder Steve Galster highlights the urgency of the search for Bach "Boonchai" Mai, who was recently sentenced to five years in prison by the Thai Supreme Court. Boonchai has long played a role in trafficking ivory, rhino horns, pangolin scales, tigers, and more.
Freeland launched the investigation into this Thai poaching kingpin years ago. Now, the manhunt begins. Please contact us with any tip-offs on his whereabouts, and if you'd like to help support this work, donate here:
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operation togoFreeland, EAGLE, and Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection (LCRP) collaborated with one another, and with government agencies from 5 countries. Now that the traffickers have been caught and the animals repatriated, these groups reveal the challenges and opportunities for mitigating major international wildlife trafficking operations.
Read More: theprint.in/world/brazil-police-repatriate-exotic-native-animals-trafficked-to-togo/1981077/ YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/OOjbTfu-NbY?si=AsXTn-0HbXxlDPGy |
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Operation CobraFreeland designed and supported the world’s largest and most active wildlife enforcement operation that was run by 25 governments, resulting in unprecedented numbers of arrests and seizures.
Watch more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWfsr0CE810 |
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Tiger Mafia Queen-Pin and Assets Identified and FrozenFreeland helped the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) of Thailand identify Jay Daoreung Chaiyamat as a major tiger and rosewood trafficker, and $37 million worth of her ill-gotten assets, which AMLO has frozen. However, she remains free.
National Geographic (with VN subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwprYViGm6Q
Bangkok Post article:
Cat and Mouse: Accused Tiger Trafficker Slips Authorities' Net |
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Freeland exposes Laos Kingpin, link to Sex Trafficking and rhino horn tradeFreeland has been instrumental in building a case against Mr. Vixay, and was the source of the vast majority of the documents reviewed for this article, including business contracts and Laotian customs documents that attest to the scale of his operation
New York Times article:
Notorious figure in animal smuggling beyond reach in Laos |
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Freeland Exposes Vietnamese Crime Syndicate involved in global tradeFreeland pushed deeper, working with a Thai government surveillance team, persuading some of the traffickers to talk to them and stepping around the corrupt public officials who guard the network to gather intelligence from reliable police sources in Africa and Asia.
The Guardian article:
Bach brothers - Asia's animal trafficking network |
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Freeland Helps Police Catch Wildlife Trafficking KingpiNFreeland helped Thai Police identify Boonchai Bach as a Kingpin in the international syndicate, "Hydra", which is thought to be one of the world's most destructive wildlife trafficking rings.
The Guardian article:
Thai police arrest notorious wildlife trafficking suspect New York Times article:
Thailand wildlife trafficking Boonchai Bach |
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West African-Asian Organized Crime Nexus Exposed and RattledFreeland delivered their signature CTOC (Counter-Transnational Organized Crime) training course to African and Asian enforcement officers, including the use of i2. Utilizing new data and new link analysis skills, the officers tracked down and arrested 5 men (3 Nigerians, 1 Congolese, and 1 Chinese) who are part of a major cross-continental syndicate that has been sponsoring the killing of thousands of elephants and pangolins for years.
Asia Times article:
African gang linked to big hauls of wildlife seized in Asia |