In early 2017, Nigeria's CITES Management Authority reportedly issued around 4,000 export permits after the fact to authorise Customs clearance for over 10,000 containers of Kosso (Pterocarpus erinaceus) timber (rosewood) that had been detained at the Chinese border. At the time of their detention, Kosso was listed under Appendix III of CITES, and the shipments did not have the required valid CITES certificates of origin. It was alleged that industry actors bribed senior officials to facilitate the retrospective “legalisation” of the rosewood exports. CITES Resolution 12.3, which addresses Permits and Certificates, advises that Management Authorities should not issue permits retroactively and that importing countries should refuse such documents, as doing so creates a loophole that can enable illegal trade.

Since 2021, the Wildlife justice Commission has been working in close partnership with the Nigeria Customs Services, providing intelligence analysis, investigative support, and evidentiary assistance. As of April 2025, the partnership has facilitated 18 joint operations, leading to 42 arrests, the seizure of more than 25 tonnes of pangolin scales (95% of all pangolin scale seizures in Nigeria over this period) and over one tonne of ivory, and 12 successful convictions. In April 2025, for example, authorities targeted a high-volume supply chain network based in Lagos – specifically the Jakande Market, where a suspected key broker was apprehended along with over one tonne of pangolin scales.  Follow-up intelligence led officers to a warehouse in Efiran, where the alleged network leader, a second suspected broker, and two employees were arrested, and a further 2.762 tonnes of scales were recovered. These successes demonstrate the importance of public-private partnerships, and provide a potential model of best practice for other jurisdictions to replicate.

In Borno State, Nigeria, the depletion of elephant populations due to the Boko Haram insurgency has triggered an adaptive shift in wildlife trafficking. As elephants migrated across the border into Cameroon's Waza National Park, poachers and traffickers turned to warthogs as an alternative source of ivory. Local hunters now sell warthogs for meat (fetching up to _200,000/$125 per animal) at markets like Molai, while their tusks – valued at approximately _30,000/$19 each locally – enter a shadowy supply chain that stretches from Maiduguri to Lagos and eventually to international markets. By the time they reach international markets, these same tusks – especially when carved or scrimshawed – can fetch up to $1,800, representing a nearly 95-fold increase in value. This dramatic markup incentivises continued poaching despite conservation efforts. Online retailers in the United States openly sell warthog tusks for prices ranging from $15.99 to $80 per pound, while South African markets offer them for as little as $10 each. This transition illustrates how quickly trafficking networks adapt when one species becomes scarce, revealing the flexibility and persistence of wildlife crime even in conflict zones.

An analysis by TRAFFIC of CITES-related seizures in 2022 revealed the prevalence of permit fraud in wildlife trafficking in the Netherlands, which had the second highest number of seizures in the European Union. For example, authorities seized two salt-water crocodile leather belts originating from Australia, as the shipment was not accompanied by the required CITES import permit. Additionally, the CITES export permit was only issued for one belt, exemplifying the piecemeal approaches to documentation used by traffickers. There were also extensive plant seizures, with 4,000 live orchids originating from Taiwan, and 7,000 live Trumpet pitchers originating from China.

Myanmar's military has played a significant and often destructive role in Kachin State's wildlife trafficking ecosystem, both historically and particularly following the 2021 coup. Even before the coup, military authorities frequently undermined conservation efforts by facilitating environmentally destructive activities in supposedly protected areas. In 2006, the military granted permission to Yuzana Company to conduct agribusiness over 800 sq km within the Hukawng Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, and in 2008 it provided exploration rights to a Russian energy company and permitted commercial logging in the same protected area. Following the 2021 coup, the military's influence on wildlife trafficking has intensified as the junta enlists support from local militias to fight against resistance forces. According to local sources, "After the coup, the Rawang militia was present in every town and the military provided guns for them. The hunters used those guns provided by the military." These military-provided weapons have reportedly enhanced hunters' capabilities to target remaining wildlife. Furthermore, local conservation workers suspect that "military-aligned militias and Border Guard Forces are involved in facilitating the trafficking of high-value wildlife products into China." The coup has also undermined what little regulatory oversight existed, as Forest Department workers have either joined the civil disobedience movement or become too afraid to conduct field inspections, creating a regulatory vacuum where wildlife products are now sold openly in markets.

Myanmar exemplifies the complex challenges of combating illegal wildlife trafficking, functioning as both a source and transit hub for endangered species due to its rich biodiversity and weak enforcement mechanisms. Despite being a CITES signatory, the country has become a critical corridor for wildlife products – including tigers, elephants, pangolins, and rhino horns – flowing between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. While international wildlife markets in border towns like Mong La and Tachilek have been well-documented as key channels for illegal wildlife entering China and Thailand respectively, researchers highlight a concerning knowledge gap about domestic wildlife trade networks and their connection to these larger cross-border operations. The political instability following the 2021 military coup has further complicated conservation efforts, with experts now advocating for a national wildlife crime database to improve information sharing, identify trafficking hotspots, and implement targeted community-based interventions rather than purely enforcement-focused approaches.

The establishment of protected areas in Myanmar's Kachin State offers a cautionary tale about top-down conservation approaches that fail to integrate local communities. Beginning in the 1990s, the Wildlife Conservation Society partnered with Myanmar's Forest Department to establish a network of protected areas, including the 3,800 sq km Hkakabo Razi National Park (in 1998), the 2,700 sq km Hponkan Razi Wildlife Sanctuary (in 2003), and the 21,000 sq km Hukawng Valley – designated as the world's largest tiger reserve in 2010. These areas were designed to prevent hunting of rare and threatened animals such as bears and tigers, in demand for bear bile and trophies. Despite these impressive designations on paper, wildlife populations have dramatically declined, revealing a fundamental disconnect between conservation intentions and outcomes. Local residents report that when these areas were established, traditional sustainable practices like seasonal hunting restrictions were abandoned as communities lost their sense of stewardship. "In the past, our people had their own land where they could manage the environment and wildlife," explained a Rawang resident from Hkakabo Razi. "After Hkakabo Razi was designated a national park, those groups told the local people that they no longer owned the land. Since then, hunting has become uncontrollable." The parks' creation failed to consider traditional resource management systems or alternative livelihoods, as one environmental activist noted: "When the government tried to conserve the forest and wildlife, they didn't consider the local community's livelihoods. The case demonstrates how conservation approaches that exclude Indigenous stewardship can inadvertently accelerate biodiversity loss by breeding resentment and undermining traditional practices that once regulated sustainable resource use.

Myanmar witnessed an alarming 74% surge in online wildlife trafficking via Facebook in 2021, despite platform bans and internet restrictions following the military coup, according to a 2022 WWF report. This digital shift in illegal wildlife trade documented 11,046 wildlife items from 173 different species being advertised, including critically endangered Sunda and Chinese pangolins, Asian giant tortoises, elephants, bears, and various bird species. The trade poses significant public health concerns, particularly through posts advertising civets and pangolins – potential vectors for zoonotic disease transmission similar to SARS and COVID-19 – with researchers identifying coronaviruses in trafficked pangolins that could potentially evolve into human pathogens. Most concerning is the trade's flagrant nature, with buyers and sellers openly discussing illegal transactions and shipping wildlife on public transportation without concealment, reflecting the anonymity afforded by social media platforms and weakened environmental enforcement following political upheaval. While conservation groups have removed over 11 million social media posts globally, traffickers quickly reemerge in new groups, highlighting the urgent need for automated detection tools, cross-sector collaboration between technology companies, law enforcement, and conservation organisations, and greater public awareness of both biodiversity and public health risks.

In 2020, Myanmar began to permit private zoos to apply for captive-breeding licenses for 90 species – including endangered tigers, elephants, and pangolins – creating regulatory loopholes that criminal networks exploit. Intelligence reports suggest Myanmar may be hosting tiger farms that supply Organised Crime syndicates in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, particularly with tiger cubs, and functioning as a laundering hub where Thai-bred cubs are exported to Myanmar and then re-imported to Thailand to obscure their origins. This situation represents a significant threat to wildlife conservation as the socio-political turmoil has weakened environmental protections while creating new trafficking opportunities that service growing pet markets in southeast Asia.

In 2022, the Exotic Birds Saint Lucia hatchery near Uruapan, Michoacán, was caught illegally selling keel-billed toucans for 15,000 pesos (US$750) each, claiming they were legal because they carried leg rings and came with sales documentation. However, investigations revealed the facility only had permits to manage swans, pheasants and peacocks, and had not updated its management plans or submitted activity reports as required by law. Even after the facility’s registration was revoked, it continued operating online with a supposedly new registration number, exemplifying how registered facilities often serve as fronts for illegal trafficking.

In Mexico City's Sonora Market, white-fronted parrots, a protected species, are openly sold for 2,500 pesos (US$125) without legal documentation, while the New San Lázaro Market offers endangered Mexican axolotls for 800 pesos (US$40) and red-kneed tarantulas for 250 pesos (US$12). Market operators employ "hawks" who aggressively monitor for inspectors or people documenting illegal activities, creating an environment where protected species are sold openly despite their status under Mexican law and international conventions, demonstrating how public markets remain hubs for wildlife trafficking despite legal prohibitions.

In a case uncovered by the Center for Biological Diversity, a self-proclaimed police commander operating under the name "Exotic Paradise" offered to sell a baby sloth – increasingly in demand as an exotic pet – for 35,000-40,000 pesos (US$1,750-2,000), admitting it would be smuggled illegally across the Mexican border through Tamaulipas into the US. The seller acknowledged that no documentation would be provided since the animals are trafficked illegally, noting that "it's cheaper" this way. This case highlights how even law enforcement personnel may be involved in wildlife trafficking. Furthermore, between 80% and 90% of sloths that are trafficked die. Babies are taken from their mothers, often violently, and are then often malnourished, cramped in cages and physically abused. In many cases their claws – which sloths need to hang from trees – are cut to prevent them from hurting humans.

In March 2014, Singaporean authorities seized approximately 30,000 Madagascar rosewood logs aboard the cargo ship MV Oriental Pride at the port of Jurong. Valued at around $50 million, it represented the largest seizure of an illegally trafficked species in history. Despite clear evidence of falsified documentation – including doctored export permits and a fabricated bill of lading showing an incorrect port of departure – the case against the traffickers ultimately collapsed after five years of legal battles. The Singapore Court of Appeal ruled that since the logs were technically "in transit" and not formally imported into Singapore, they could not be seized under Singapore's Endangered Species Act. This case highlights the serious legal loopholes that traffickers exploit to trade illegally in wildlife.

By interviewing 53 individuals with knowledge of fishing boat smuggling routes and the wildlife trade – particularly in tiger parts – between Malaysia and Vietnam, a 2025 study uncovered a convergence between illegal wildlife trafficking and other criminal activities in the South China Sea, particularly involving fishing vessels. These boats serve dual purposes: conducting illegal fishing while simultaneously transporting people and wildlife products between countries. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has seized thousands of boats carrying contraband valued at over $150 million USD since its establishment in 2019. Meanwhile, Vietnam has deployed fisheries control boats to patrol maritime borders and implemented the Boat Monitoring System to track vessel movement. Despite these efforts, the economic challenges facing the fishing sector in countries like Malaysia and Vietnam, combined with poor regulation of migrant worker employment, continue to create conditions favourable for trafficking both people and wildlife.

A 2025 study by Panthera, the wild cat conservation organisation, the Jeffrey Sachs Center at Sunway University, and ZSL, exposed a nexus between the lucrative illegal trade in tiger parts, and Human Trafficking and Forced Labour. The research identified key roles within these networks: poachers who hunt the animals, transporters who move the products, brokers who manage logistics for Vietnamese workers in Malaysia, traders who buy and sell wildlife products, and end consumers. According to the researchers, most tiger poachers operating in Malaysia originate from Vietnam's Quang Binh province, a poor, rural area vulnerable to climate shocks with limited employment opportunities. These individuals, skilled in bushcraft, often enter the illegal wildlife trade due to economic desperation. Many plunge their families into debt to cover travel costs to Malaysia, then accumulate additional living expenses while there. Research calculations indicate it takes approximately three months of high-risk forest expeditions before poachers break even financially. Network managers frequently confiscate the poachers' travel documents and identification, trapping them in a cycle of debt that incentivises more killings and creates conditions of indentured labour.

In September 2023, Teo Boon Ching, the so-called "Godfather" of wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by a US court. For over two decades, Teo operated as a specialist transporter and middleman in a vast transnational criminal network, moving rhino horns, elephant ivory, and pangolin scales from Africa to Asian markets. His sophisticated smuggling methods included concealing elephant tusks in nylon bags hidden within shipping containers filled with at least eight tons of beans or peanuts, using owned rather than rented containers to avoid scrutiny, and leveraging connections with local authorities to facilitate transit through Malaysian ports. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, Teo charged between RM500-800 ($110-175 USD) per kilogram for his services – a shipment of elephant ivory could earn him RM800,000 ($175,000 USD) in fees alone. His 2022 arrest in Bangkok and subsequent extradition to the US represented a rare instance of successfully targeting a high-level operator in wildlife trafficking networks. Despite some conservation experts considering the 18-month sentence lenient given the scale of his operations, which included involvement in the largest seizure of pangolin scales and ivory in Hong Kong SAR's history in 2017, the case highlights the importance of international cooperation when it comes to prosecuting wildlife crime and disrupting the operational capacity of organised criminal networks involved in the illegal wildlife trade.

In May 2024, Thai authorities conducted one of the country's largest wildlife trafficking busts, seizing 1,109 endangered animals from Madagascar – including ring-tailed lemurs, brown lemurs, radiated tortoises, and spider tortoises. The operation was the culmination of an international investigation involving the Royal Thai Police, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Justice Commission, UNODC, and INTERPOL. The traffickers had moved the animals through a complex route spanning Indonesia and Malaysia before entering Thailand. Seven months later, nearly 1,000 surviving animals were repatriated to Madagascar in an operation sponsored by Qatar Airways and Airlink. This case illustrates the complex logistics of wildlife repatriation, the transnational nature of wildlife trafficking networks, and the necessity of public-private partnerships in combating wildlife crime.

In April 2025, Kenya Wildlife Service officers uncovered an unusual wildlife trafficking operation when they arrested two Belgian teenagers attempting to smuggle over 5,000 ants from Kenya to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia. The 19-year-olds had stored the ants – including the prized Messor cephalotes, a large red harvester ant native to East Africa – in test tubes and syringes with cotton wool (environments that would keep the insects alive for weeks during transport). This case represents what authorities describe as "a shift in trafficking trends – from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species." The incident sheds light on the booming global ant-keeping hobby, where specimens like Messor cephalotes can sell for £99 GBP per colony in specialised online marketplaces. Scientists warn that this emerging trade poses significant biodiversity risks, as these ants play crucial ecological roles, harvester ants collect and disperse grass seeds throughout the African savannah and serve as food for species like aardvarks and pangolins.

In Madagascar, a crackdown on the illegal trade in Malagasy tortoises has led to a series of recent arrests. In 2024, authorities apprehended a Tanzanian national found to be transporting 800 tortoises in the northwestern coastal town of Mahajanga. This arrest prompted a major investigation in regions all around the country, including the capital, Antananarivo. Following this, in early 2025, authorities also apprehended four Chinese accomplices in Tanzania, and 19 further traffickers in Madagascar, many of which were arrested at the airport with tortoises in their suitcases. According to the investigation, the trafficking operation linked poachers who capture the tortoises from the wild habitat, with others who take care of temporary storage and local transport of the animals. Other intermediaries are then responsible for arranging for their export. Recent arrests suggest that some politicians also seem to have a stake in the apparently lucrative sector. A member of parliament, Roméo Christophe Ramanatanana, was arrested as part of the crackdown and charged with illegally transporting 112 tortoises to Antananarivo.

According to investigations by ENACT Africa, sandalwood trafficking networks operate sophisticated cross-border and maritime export operations that exploit regulatory gaps between East African countries. At the Kenya-Uganda border in Busia town, smugglers transport tonnes of sandalwood disguised in carton boxes via public buses from Nakuru to Busia at least three times weekly. At the border, smugglers pay KES 3,500 per 100kg bag for bicycle transport across the border and KES 100 per bag to border police as bribes. This "protection economy" extends to senior police officers who strategically remove roadblocks to allow vehicles carrying sandalwood to pass unhindered. Once in Uganda, Kenyan sandalwood is repackaged as Ugandan products and sealed by Ugandan authorities before being shipped back to Kenya for export through the Port of Mombasa. The scale of this operation is evident in police records at Kilindini Police Station, which documented the confiscation of 11 containers between 2015 and 2018, containing approximately 237 tonnes of sandalwood valued at $9.48 million USD. This trafficking route demonstrates how criminals exploit both regional regulatory differences and corruption within border security systems to facilitate the movement of illegal wildlife products to international markets in Asia.

In Samburu County, Kenya, a sophisticated network facilitates illegal sandalwood harvesting from forests. Local women perform the actual harvesting, supervised by "technicians" who ensure quality, while warriors (imuran) provide armed security. Chiefs act as gatekeepers, receiving payments of around KES 10,000 in "access fees" from brokers. Community rangers, meant to protect wildlife, are also paid off (approximately KES 20,000) to allow access to forests. Sandalwood trafficking in Samburu County is notably controlled by women traders who coordinate the entire operation. These businesswomen place orders through brokers, finance transport and logistics, hire technicians, and maintain protective relationships with authorities. Their influence extends to organising a "sandalwood traders' association" that pools funds to protect members, including allocating money to hire hitmen against enforcement officers who interfere with their operations. One senior police officer reported that women traffickers boldly introduced themselves as sandalwood traders and attempted to bribe him, demonstrating the network's confidence in their protection arrangements. This community-level operation has devastated local forests and placed the slow-growing sandalwood tree at risk of extinction, while the harvesters themselves receive only KES 100-150 per kilogram – a fraction of the international market value.

In Indonesia, orangutan capture, killing, harm (injury or harassment) and trade (possession, sale, purchase, exchange or barter) have been banned since 1932. These crimes are subject to maximum penalties of five years imprisonment and fines of IDR 100 million (the equivalent of approximately $7000 USD), but sentencing is generally lenient. Illegal killing and trade have been consistently identified as significant threats to orangutans for more than 50 years. In Indonesia, orangutans are killed opportunistically for bushmeat, as a pre-emptive step to prevent crop foraging or interaction with humans (or in retaliation for the same), and to obtain infants as pets. Obtaining dependent infant orangutans nearly always necessitates killing of the mother. Orangutans have been popular as pets in Indonesia for several decades – a situation that persists today. According to an academic study of wildlife crime, enforcement and deterrence patterns in Indonesia, the most prevalent interventions to address illegal activity related to orangutans – education and handovers of illegally held animals – have not seen an associated decline in relevant crimes. The authors argue that these tactics alone therefore appear insufficient to address orangutan-related crimes and, instead, substantial increases in patrols, investigations, arrests, and convictions, as well as community-focused solutions are urgently needed to halt the killing of and trade in orangutans.

In 2024, quarantine authorities in Lampung, Indonesia seized a solitary truck carrying 6,514 birds, believed to be the country’s biggest seizure of an illegal shipment of birds from a single vehicle. Lampung, at the southern tip of Sumatra, is home to some of Indonesia’s busiest ports and a transportation pinch point which has seen repeated seizures over the years. The traffickers used a closed truck concealing its cargo, and routed the shipment through a facility considered an alternative to Lampung’s main Bakauheni sea port. Crammed into 216 boxes, the birds were found in the vehicle in the province’s Bandar Bakau Jaya Port which ferries heavy vehicles crossing the Sunda Strait from Sumatra, where the birds originated, to Java, where bustling bird markets are located. While only 257 of the seized birds were from protected species, this case highlights the continued pressure on Sumatran birds, particularly species currently not protected under Indonesian law, to feed the massive demand.

Demand for shark products varies from affordable meat for local consumption to high-value export products like shark fins used as a culinary delicacy in Asia, as well as a range of other products such as shark skin and liver oil. International markets that cater to this demand drive overfishing of sharks which, coupled with low biological productivity, puts shark species at a higher risk of extinction when compared to most other vertebrates. In India, 26 sharks and rays have been accorded the highest protection status under local laws. However, India is also one of the world’s largest shark fishing nations. In India, shark meat is a local delicacy consumed by many people, especially along the Southern coast. According to a study of seizure trends by TRAFFIC between 2020 and 2022, Tamil Nadu is a particular hotspot for shark trafficking, accounting for 65% of the seizure incidents. Shark fin remains the dominant product, accounting for 82% of incidents. Finally, around 50% of seized products analysed were destined for parts of Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, and Sri Lanka.

While the growth of the airline sector has facilitated the smooth transit of individuals and goods across the globe, it is also being exploited by traffickers to move illegal wildlife products quickly and with significantly fewer wildlife casualties in transit. An analysis of wildlife seizures in India’s airports by TRAFFIC between 2011-2020 found that several native wildlife species ranging from the Indian star tortoise to leopard cubs were seized. It also found many exotic species such as iguanas, pythons, and exotic birds were seized from check-in and hand baggage at various Indian airports during the study period. In India, wildlife is protected against hunting, trade, and other forms of exploitation through the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, as well as international agreements such as CITES. Despite the restrictions, however, wildlife trafficking continues. TRAFFIC’s study highlights the increasing misuse of airports for smuggling wildlife and its contrabands within India and across the regions.