16 infringements of timber trafficking in Portugal detected
The operation “Law 2.0 2023” took place between November 13 and 17 and was attended by the GNR, through the Nature Protection and Environment Service (SEPNA), the PSP, the Tax and Customs Authority (AT), the Institute of Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the Maritime Police, reads a statement released today.
According to the statement, the surveillance actions were encouraged by Europol and El PAcCTO (a cooperation program between Europe and Latin America, based on assistance against transnational organized crime) and carried out under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In addition to Portugal, they involved security forces and services in Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain and aimed to combat networks involved in environmental crime, illegal logging, smuggling, tax evasion, money laundering and documentary fraud.
Of the 16 infractions for illegal trafficking of wood detected in Portugal, five occurred due to lack of registration in the national register CITES and another five for lack of registration and data registration in the Integrated System of Electronic Waste Registration (SIRER), three for lack of registration for the commercialization of exotic woods, two for lack of registration of operator of commercialization of woods and one for lack of annual registration of CITES.
There were also 29 infringements on other grounds, in particular for the transport of goods and breaches of the road code.
The statement said that of the 213 inspection actions carried out, 108 were carried out to trade and processing operators of wood and derivatives, 90 to wood transporters and derivatives and 15 to containers present in seaports.
The operation also involved the collaboration in certain inspection actions in the Districts of Braga, Porto and Santarém, an expert of the Federal Police of Brazil in identification of woods and in analysis of forest information.
At the international level, the entities highlight that, out of a total of 226 inspection actions, wood from Myanmar (formerly Burma) was seized, in the amount of 12,000 Euros, and the seizure of wood from Brazil worth 67,000 Euroro.
“The illegal timber trade is an abominable practice that involves the devastation of an area of forest equivalent to a football field every two seconds around the world. The illegal timber trade depletes the natural resources of the countries of origin and has a direct impact on deforestation and, consequently, on climate change,” Europol noted.
Illicit timber trade is one of the most financially profitable transnational criminal activities, generating almost 6.5 billion euros annually.
Several types of wood – such as teak, rosewood, ipê and pernambuco – are highly sought after in European countries, where they are used for various purposes, including the creation of ornaments and construction in general.
Organized criminal groups mask the origin of wood through the falsification of documents and bribery to pass customs controls, so this crime includes numerous environmental crimes, illegal logging, smuggling, documentary fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.