FROM SEIZURE TO SENTENCE

The report identifies significant gaps in the criminal justice response to tiger trafficking in Southeast Asia, noting that while arrests are frequent in some countries, they rarely lead to convictions. Indonesia is highlighted as a model for transparency due to its publicly accessible sentencing records, which reveal that successful prosecutions rely on interagency coordination and forensic evidence. However, the report finds that most prosecuted individuals are low-to-mid-level actors, while high-level organisers remain elusive. The authors recommend increasing judicial transparency, diversifying legal strategies to include anti-money laundering and organised crime statutes, and implementing restorative justice mechanisms to repair ecological harm.

• Between 2019 and 2024, 259 tiger-related seizures were recorded across the target countries, with Viet Nam (107) and Indonesia (99) accounting for the vast majority of incidents.
• There is a significant disparity in judicial outcomes across the region; while Indonesia and Viet Nam show stronger follow-through after arrests, countries like Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar exhibit major gaps between detection and sentencing.
• A critical barrier to improving regional responses is the lack of transparency in judicial records; except for Indonesia, prosecution data are generally not publicly accessible, which obscures case attrition and prevents comparative analysis.
• Analysis of Indonesian court records (2015–2025) shows that most prosecuted defendants are lower or mid-level actors, such as hunters and transporters, often driven by economic vulnerability or opportunistic gain, while high-level financiers and organisers are largely absent from court proceedings.
• In Indonesia, successful prosecutions are associated with specific factors: the use of forensic evidence (such as DNA analysis and necropsy reports), undercover sting operations, and tips from local community members.
• Current prosecutions rely almost exclusively on wildlife-specific legislation; the report argues that leveraging anti-money laundering, corruption, and organised crime statutes could better target high-level trafficking networks.
• In Thailand and Viet Nam, the frequent use of suspended sentences for tiger offences risks creating a perception that these crimes carry minimal consequences, potentially undermining the deterrent effect of the law.
• Tiger trafficking often occurs as part of a multi-species trade; Indonesian cases frequently involved other protected species such as pangolins, elephants, and various marine species.
• The Indonesian judicial process for tiger crimes is relatively rapid, with an average of 151 days from the detection of the crime to the final sentencing.

APA

Boratto, R., Gomez, L., Sohl, H., Henry, L., Krishnasamy, K., John, E., Wong, R., Rachmayuningtyas, B., & Leupen, B. (2026). FROM SEIZURE TO SENTENCE. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2448/From_Seizure_to_Sentence.pdf

Chicago

Boratto, Rachel, Lalita Gomez, Heather Sohl, Leigh Henry, Kanitha Krishnasamy, Elizabeth John, Ramacandra Wong, Biofagri Rachmayuningtyas, and Boyd Leupen. FROM SEIZURE TO SENTENCE. WWF International, 2026. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2448/From_Seizure_to_Sentence.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{boratto2026from, author = {Boratto, Rachel and Gomez, Lalita and Sohl, Heather and Henry, Leigh and Krishnasamy, Kanitha and John, Elizabeth and Wong, Ramacandra and Rachmayuningtyas, Biofagri and Leupen, Boyd}, title = {{FROM SEIZURE TO SENTENCE}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/2448/From_Seizure_to_Sentence.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }