6-Mar-10 2:00 PM CST

Traditional Medicines Containing Wildlife Parts Worth RM46 Million Seized

NEW DELHI, March 6 (Bernama) -- In a well-orchestrated operation to clamp down illicit trade in traditional medicines across the globe, Interpol seized medicines containing illegal ingredients from animals ranging from the tiger, bear to rhinoceros.

Under a month-long project last month, code-named Operation Tram, the global police confiscated contraband worth 10 million Euros (RM46 million), said Interpol.

Cutting across continents, from Australia, India, Europe to Africa, national wildlife enforcement agencies, customs and police, jointly mounted the operation to stem the rising illegal trade in traditional medicines using wildlife.

"A primary goal of Operation Tram was to combat the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, which is a threat to our planet's biodiversity," said David Higgins, head of Interpol's environment crime project.

"This operation has again proved that while environmental criminals may cross borders and display high levels of organization, so too will the international law enforcement community in its efforts to apprehend those criminals," he added.

In Delhi, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in a statement, said that for traditional medicines, India was a target state as endangered species were poached or illegally taken.

"The demand within the country for wildlife and its derivatives is limited but it has been the prime target of organised international wildlife trade," added the statement.

India is a mega biodiversity country and accounts for 6.5 percent of the world's known wildlife species.

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