UAE leads operation to combat environmental crimes in the Amazon, says Sheikh Saif

The United Arab Emirates continued its global efforts to protect the environment through the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC), which it launched in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2023, according to Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who said that these efforts are an extension of the vision of the wise leadership which made joint international action a basis for facing cross-border challenges.

Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif added via the "X" platform: In response to the growing international need to coordinate the efforts of law enforcement agencies in facing environmental crimes, the UAE led Operation "Green Shield 2026", which was launched in July in cooperation with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, as part of one of the largest coordinated security operations to combat environmental crimes in the Amazon Basin.

Sheikh Saif explained that during 17 days, 1,045 field operations were carried out, 839 suspects were arrested, and materials, equipment, and assets related to environmental crimes worth more than $280 million were seized, in an achievement which confirms the UAE's ability to transform international partnerships into qualitative operations with a tangible effective impact, and to build a more effective global model in facing cross-border environmental crimes.