UAE-Led Amazon Crackdown Nets 839 Arrests In Green Shield Operation
A major international operation led by the UAE has delivered striking results. The UAE-led Amazon crackdown, known as Operation Green Shield 2026, resulted in 839 arrests and $280 million in seized assets over just 17 days.
The joint effort targeted environmental crime across the Amazon basin, involving close cooperation with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. Authorities say it stands as one of the largest coordinated environmental crime operations carried out in the region to date.
The operation focused on dismantling networks involved in illegal deforestation, wildlife trafficking and related financial crimes that have long threatened the Amazon’s fragile ecosystem.
By working across five countries simultaneously, investigators were able to trace and disrupt supply chains that individual nations had struggled to tackle alone.
The scale of the arrests and asset seizures highlights the UAE‘s growing role in international environmental protection efforts, building on its broader commitment to sustainability and conservation initiatives on the global stage.
Officials involved in the operation say the results reflect the value of shared intelligence and coordinated enforcement when tackling crimes that cross national borders, particularly those threatening some of the world’s most important natural ecosystems.
