Homeland Security will create a new agency to combat wildlife crime

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is building a brand-new wildlife trafficking investigations unit—a team financed with a recent $7.5 million appropriation that will support 14 investigators and analysts who will work on timber, fish, plant, and animal crimes.

Some of the focus of the new unit will be undercover operationssays Elliott Harbin, a senior adviser for the new unit, but the team will also unravel other aspects of criminal networks, including money laundering and financial crimes. Often, they’ll partner with other agencies and law enforcement in the U.S. and around the world.

Homeland Security, an anti-terrorism agency that was created in the aftermath of 9/11, said in a recent report that fighting wildlife crime is an