Law Enforcement, Wildlife Smugglers Battle Online

The battleground between wildlife smugglers and law enforcement is, to an increasing degree, moving online.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the internet makes wildlife crime easier to accomplish and to hide...but it isn't all one-way. Cyberspace also makes smugglers vulnerable to stings.

"What works for criminals also works for us," said USFWS special agent Ed Newcomer. "The internet provides anonymity for everyone, and when we go online, the people we're after have no idea who we are."

PROFITS IN ILLEGAL WILDLIFE

According to a USFWS press release the illegal wildlife trade nets billions of dollars for criminals located in countries around the world, say experts. Law enforcement officers call the black market in wildlife the second largest in the world, trailing illegal drugs.

It's all about profit. In the mid-1990s, a single ounce of rhino horn sold in Yemen for about $1,687, according to the World Wildlife Fund. By comparison, currently gold has a value of $667 per ounce.

The trade is strongest in the West where the market is booming for protected animals and for wildlife products, ranging from insects to footstools made from elephant feet.

CYBERTHREAT TO WILDLIFE

Newcomer said it is difficult to know how much illegal wildlife trade there is because authoritative, dependable research on the subject doesn't exist. But if his experience is a guide, the cybertrade in wildlife is extensive.

Newcomer and colleagues nailed one Los Angeles offender, the self-described "world's most wanted butterfly smuggler" who sold Newcomer protected butterfly specimens for $14,000 and would've closed a $300,000 deal with Newcomer if the agent could've produced the cash. The smuggler got two years in prison (certainly better than a drug dealing counterpart could've expected).

It's an ongoing challenge to adjust law enforcement tactics to the changing tactics used by the wildlife smugglers the USFWS target.

"I want every illegal wildlife dealer who is online to think about one thing," said Newcomer, "your next customer may be a Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer."