Hanoi, July 10, 2024 – Education for Nature (ENV) has just received information that Hanoi City Police arrested Cao Xuan Manh, a resident of Nghe An province for trafficking of endangered wildlife.
Manh is reportedly a senior leader of a major transnational wildlife trafficking network based in Dien Chau District of Nghe An province.
On January 12, 2024, during an operation undertaken by Hanoi Economic Police, Manh and two accomplices were caught selling a 4,1 kg rhino horn. Manh escaped arrest in Hanoi, facing a wanted notice.
“ENV congratulates Hanoi Economic Police for achieving an important victory in Vietnam’s efforts to target the leadership of wildlife trafficking networks in Vietnam,” said ENV Law and Policy director, Ms. Bui Thi Ha. “While seizures of wildlife are disruptive and often costly to traffickers, the only way to deliver long-lasting and meaningful impacts is to target the leadership of these criminal enterprises.”
Ha noted that this success was the result of consistent and tireless efforts over more than a year of the Hanoi Economic and City Police. “Mr. Manh is not a mule or middleman,” Ms. Ha added. “He was a high-value leadership target.
According to ENV’s Wildlife Crime Incident Tracking Database, Manh operates a sophisticated network specializing in transporting and trading wildlife, with a focus on tiger trade. Manh can provide whole tigers, bones, processed tiger bone glue or even organize cooking activities upon customer requests. A number of tiger seizures in northern provinces in recent times were credited to Manh’s
trafficking operation.
Nghe An is known as a notorious hotspot for illegal wildlife trafficking, particularly involving tigers. Nghe An Provincial People’s Committee has instructed authorities to actively investigate and dismantle these networks. While initial efforts appeared to reflect determination to rid Nghe An of its wildlife trafficking reputation, with 17 illegal kept tigers seized in August 2021, no major wildlife traffickers involved in tiger trading in the province have been arrested until the arrest by Hanoi Police of Mr. Manh.
“ENV urges Nghe An authorities to embark on a determined and consistent effort to rid the province of wildlife traffickers, pursuing not mules and middlemen, but the traffickers who lead these networks and have become wealthy and influential at the expense of wildlife and the reputation of Nghe An province and Vietnam as a whole,” says Ms. Ha.
Regarding the pending prosecution of Mr. Manh, ENV urges the courts in Hanoi to set an example of Mr. Manh that will resonate amongst the leadership of other wildlife trafficking networks; no one is above the law, and if you lead a criminal enterprise that traffics wildlife, you will be targeted by law enforcement with arrest and prosecution.
ENV works closely with police and other stakeholders within the criminal justice system to strengthen Vietnam’s efforts in combatting global wildlife trafficking. Manh is the 7th “kingpin” wildlife trafficker to be arrested in Vietnam. All six of Manh’s predecessors were convicted and served or are serving prison sentences. An estimated 15 major wildlife traffickers remain in operation, some trafficking tonnes of ivory, pangolin scales, rhino horn, and other wildlife into or through Vietnam.
For more information, please contact:
Maddalena Cascio
env4wildlife@gmail.com
Tel/Fax: +84 24 6281 5424/ +84 24 6281 5423
Website: www.env4wildlife.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EducationforNatureVietnam
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About ENV
Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV) was established in 2000 as Vietnam’s first non-governmental organization focused on wildlife conservation. ENV has spearheaded efforts to end Vietnam’s illegal wildlife trade by employing out-of-the-box strategies that strengthen wildlife protection legislation and its application, provide support to law enforcement in addressing wildlife crime, and engage the public to reduce consumer demand and mobilize public action to protect wildlife. ENV is committed to securing a better future for wildlife, both in Vietnam and globally.
Since 2007, ENV has focused its activities in three major program areas that comprise ENV’s strategic and integrated approach to combatting illegal wildlife trafficking in Vietnam.
- Working with policy-makers to strengthen legislation, close loopholes in the law, and promote effective application of laws and policy that protect wildlife.
- Strengthening law enforcement response to wildlife crime through direct support and assistance to law enforcement agencies in combatting wildlife crime.
- Reducing consumer demand for wildlife products through investment in a long-term and sustained effort to influence public attitudes and behavior, including mobilizing public participation and action protecting wildlife by reporting wildlife crime.