There is huge demand for ivory, horns and claws of critically endangered species such as rhinos, elephants and tigers
Poachers and smugglers have found a new way to hoodwink investigators and carry out illicit trade of animal parts via mobile apps and coded language on chat groups. There is huge demand for ivory, horns and claws of critically endangered species such as rhinos, elephants and tigers.
Sources said that investigators are unable to generate enough intelligence to nab operators using apps like Telegram, WhatApp and Signal among others. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, a statutory multi-disciplinary body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has managed to identify and stop physical trafficking of endangered species, but it is still grappling in the dark when it comes to smuggling via mobile technology. "The animal parts are smuggled to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and other South Asian Countries and the United Kingdom," said deputy director RS Thakur at the bureau.
"To deal with new threats, we are taking help of probe agencies and setting up a small unit of IT experts," said an officer in the bureau.
The officer added that India is a primary source for endangered species.
The agency, comprising 79 people with the help of cyber patrolling unit has managed to detect 200 cases of illegal trafficking on 129 e-commerce websites. "We have carried out two meeting with big e-commerce websites like Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Infibeam, Ebay and others. They have been asked to set up an internal mechanism. The meetings bore positive results," he said.
The biggest challenge lies in stopping illegal trade on Darknet and mobile apps. "There is evidence of criminals using Darknet to sell illicit wildlife products from critically endangered species such as rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger parts and products," said another officer.
The wildlife traders are attracted to the Darknet because of its strong anonymity and security mechanisms. Sellers are already familiar with the encryption technology, financial instruments and communication methods used in this anonymous space. Another challenge is criminals using social chat groups for illegal trafficking. "These are close-nit. It is tough to gather intelligence about these groups," the officer said. With new unit coming up, the bureau is hopeful that the detection rates would eventually rise.
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