The ASEANAPOL Secretariat, in partnership with Freeland, conducted the Counter Transnational Organized Crime-Wildlife Trafficking (CTOC-WT) training from September 2 to 6, 2024, in Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. The training, attended by ASEANAPOL Secretariat Executive Director David Martinez Vinluan and DSP Suresh Subramaniam, was initiated by Mr. Steven Galster of the Freeland Foundation in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. This training aimed to address the growing issue of wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia, bringing together law enforcement officers to strengthen their capacity in tackling transnational organized crime.
The CTOC-WT program builds on Freeland’s previous TRIPOD II initiative, focusing on providing law enforcement with the tools to detect, analyze, and dismantle wildlife trafficking networks. Through interactive role-playing, participants were trained to collaborate across agencies and sectors, enabling them to develop a comprehensive understanding of criminal syndicates. These exercises helped participants devise effective targeting strategies for disrupting wildlife trafficking networks, leading to successful prosecutions, asset seizures, and the protection of endangered species.
During the opening remarks, Retired Police Major General Petcharat Sangchai, CEO of Freeland Thailand, stressed the importance of a unified regional approach to combating wildlife trafficking. The training involved diverse personnel, including police, customs officials, financial intelligence units, tax inspectors, and prosecutors. The course used realistic mock scenarios to teach investigative skills such as open-source intelligence gathering, digital forensics, and handling confidential informants, emphasizing the need for inter-agency collaboration in addressing wildlife crime.
ASEANAPOL Executive Director David Martinez Vinluan highlighted ASEANAPOL’s mission to enhance police cooperation among ASEAN member states, focusing on wildlife trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, cybercrime, and organized crime. The training concluded with a commitment to further explore collaborative efforts between ASEANAPOL and Freeland. This partnership marks a significant step in strengthening cross-border cooperation in the fight against wildlife trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime in the region.
“Together We Keep This Region Safe"