The limited research lab worked on nearly 250 criminal cases last year, representing hundreds of individual samples from high-profile cases involving rhino horn, pangolin scales, ivory, cats large, fish, bear parts, turtle and lion bones.
Laboratory upgrade
The facility is based at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR), located in the capital, Hanoi, and has undergone a major transformation.
It has now become a world-class wildlife forensics laboratory, through funding initially provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and more recently by UNODC.
Giovanni Broussard, Regional Coordinator of the United Nations agency’s Global Program to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crime, recently announced the continuation of funding through September.
“Despite the ongoing challenges, the Vietnamese laboratory has continued to operate efficiently and has been specially authorized to operate during the closure, clearly demonstrating the commitment of the Vietnamese Government in the future,” he said. tackling the illegal wildlife trade”.
Law enforcement assistance
Six dedicated forensics officers have worked through pandemic restrictions, including a local travel ban, to ensure criminal cases are efficiently handled and reported.
The project, funded by UNODC and implemented by the TRACE Wildlife Forensic Network, has directly supported more than 70 criminal cases through a specialized quality management system.
Last July, customs authorities at the port of Da Nang seized a shipment sent from Durban, South Africa. The shipment was declared as wood, but actually contained just over 3 tons of animal bones, including skulls and 52 horns.
Bone sample
Although the employee was prevented from going to the crime scene due to COVID-19 limited, they provided a sampling guide so that customs officers could take one bone from each bag and extract a sample of each horn, which was then sent back to IEBR for analysis.
“It’s been a challenging two years, but the transformation is incredible to see,” said regional technical support specialist, Kelly Morgan from the TRACE Wildlife Forensic Network.
The laboratory is currently undergoing an audit by the US-based Society for Forensic Wildlife Sciences to ensure that its practices are in line with international standards.
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