Lack of detention space could force CBSA to release detainees, internal memo warns
The Canada Border Security Agency is scrambling to find space to hold high-risk detainees that are set to be transferred from provincial jails in June.
Canada's financial intelligence agency is stepping up the fight against the illicit wildlife trade by taking aim at the criminals who reap big profits from the global racket.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as Fintrac, is encouraging banks and other enterprises to be on the lookout for telltale signs that business dealings could involve the illegal trafficking of animals and exotic plants.
Fintrac has published a new operational alert aimed at gleaning useful intelligence to combat a major international crime that generates approximately US$20 billion in annual proceeds.
The alert says Canadian bears are poached for their bile, claws and paws, which reap large sums on the traditional medicine market at home and abroad.
Fintrac warns that other wild animals in Canada are hunted for their fur and sold globally as trophies or other decorative products.
Species at risk of being targeted include cougars, geese, lynx, moose, crabs, eels, lobsters, narhwals, turtles and wolves.
There is demand in Canada for wildlife and animal parts from abroad such as reptiles, rhinoceros horns, shark fins, endangered birds and orchids.
Fintrac tries to detect cash linked to money laundering by combing through a steady stream of data from banks, insurance companies, securities dealers, money service businesses, real estate brokers, casinos and others.
Fintrac then discloses intelligence to police and security partners for use in their investigations.
The operational alert was developed in support of Project Anton, an international partnership designed to build awareness of the threat and target illegal proceeds. It is named in honour of Anton Mzimba, former head of security at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, who was murdered last year.
The project is led by Scotiabank and supported by The Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife network, Fintrac, the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force, Western Union and several other government, law enforcement and non-governmental organizations.
The goal is to work together on a problem that is truly international in scope, said Stuart Davis, a Scotiabank executive vice-president. "We think by focusing on this, we can truly make an impact and a difference."
A Fintrac examination of about 200 suspicious transaction reports related to the illegal wildlife trade between 2011 and 2022 revealed that the majority involved the suspected illicit importation of flora and fauna into Canada, particularly from China and sub-Saharan Africa.
The reports also indicated possible shipments of wildlife from Canada to countries including the United States and China, the agency says.
The illegal importation of exotic wildlife often starts with a Canadian trader who orders wildlife through a co-ordinator located, for example, in Australia, Asia or Africa, the alert says.
"The co-ordinator manages all aspects of an illegal trade operation required to source wildlife for the Canadian trader including the engagement of poachers, breeders, traders, money mules and couriers located in their country."
Wildlife is transported to a courier who is paid to ensure movement of animals to the Canadian trader, Fintrac says.
"Transportation can be indirect, through the postal service or transportation companies often funded with cash, or directly by couriers who conceal wildlife in their luggage or their person when travelling to Canada."
The Canadian trader might then advertise the trafficked animals for sale on a website or through social media.
Investigations and prosecutions to date have often been directed "at the small guys," such as poachers, not those making millions from the illicit wildlife trade, said Xolisile Khanyile, director of South Africa's Financial Intelligence Centre.
Tracking the big players through financial transactions can help disrupt organized crime, she said. "If you only touch the lower guys, the kingpins will keep on replacing them."
Individuals involved in the illegal export of wildlife from Canada were receiving funds from people or organizations involved with animals, such as pet stores and zoos, often located in the U.S. or overseas, the Fintrac alert says.
Remittance information for these funds sometimes referred to species or animal parts of concern.
Suspicious transactions included excessive spending at postal services, shipping entities and animal logistics services, along with purchases of cages and freight equipment.
Fintrac warns that the circulation of animal parts increases the chances of disease transmission and can be a path for future pandemics.
The illegal wildlife trade is also a growing threat to the global environment and biodiversity, imperilling endangered species and threatening fragile habitats, communities and livelihoods, the agency says.
While an initial goal is to disrupt the organized criminals behind the trade, a long-term barometer of the project's success will be ensuring our grandchildren's grandchildren will still be able to appreciate rhinos and other exploited species, said Barry MacKillop, Fintrac's deputy director of intelligence.
"So I think there's two sides to this success that I'm looking for, one much longer term that will outlive me."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2023.
The Canada Border Security Agency is scrambling to find space to hold high-risk detainees that are set to be transferred from provincial jails in June.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, 'Ramblin' Man,' has died. He was 80.
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
Ontario Provincial Police say they have 'disrupted' an organized crime group that allegedly used an emergency grandparent scam to defraud seniors across Canada out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Calgary police say Winston Campbell, 45, has been charged in the death of a two-year-old girl in 2022.
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.