Nearly 200 people were arrested and 2,000 truckloads of timber seized at the outset of a crackdown against illegal timber operations in Central and South America, says Interpol, the Paris-based association of national police forces that fights international crime. The raids, conducted alongside enforcement agencies in 12 Latin American nations including Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and Peru, targeted roads, ports and retail outlets. Interpol describes the offensive, dubbed “Operation Lead” and conducted from September to late November, as the agency’s first foray into the world of forestry crime. It says the raids form part of its growing effort to get national environmental, police and customs authorities to cooperate with one another and with Interpol in taking on the powerful criminal networks involved in the... [Log in to read more]