A UAE-led international policing initiative, ‘Operation Green Shield 2026’, has resulted in the arrest of 839 individuals and the seizure of over $280 million worth of illegally harvested timber, mining equipment, fuel, and minerals across the Amazon basin. Coordinated from Bogotá with law enforcement agencies from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, the operation was spearheaded by the UAE’s International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC).
Deploying more than 3,600 personnel across 1,045 field operations, the joint effort targeted transnational criminal networks involved in illegal logging, mining, land grabbing, and wildlife trafficking. Officials confirmed the seizure of 280,450 cubic meters of timber and 195 tonnes of minerals, marking one of the largest coordinated environmental law enforcement operations to date.
