26 photos that give an inside look at one of the biggest criminal enterprises on the planet

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the largest criminal enterprises on the planet.

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In fact, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranks wildlife trafficking alongside the drug trade, arms dealing, and human trafficking in terms of illicit profits, which are estimated to be between $8 and $10 billion a year.

Animals are sold as pets, consumed as delicacies, and used to create traditional medicines all around the globe.

green turtle smuggling animals
A worker holds a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) after unloading it from a truck in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Police said they foiled an attempt to smuggle 71 green turtles for food. The turtles, caught in the waters off Sulawesi Island, have an average weight of 100 kilograms (220 pounds). REUTERS/Murdani Usman

Trafficking serves as one of the biggest sources of funding for organized crime.

Scroll through these photos for an inside look at animals that have been rescued.

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This Malayan sun bear was seized as part of a shipment of creatures estimated to be worth $20,000.

Malayan sun bear smuggled animals
A wildlife department official holds a Malayan sun bear for the media in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was among other animals estimated to be worth $20,000, including juvenile eagles and a slow loris, seized by the wildlife department during an operation against illegal wildlife traders earlier this month. The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be $8 billion a year worldwide, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

Black spotted freshwater turtles are pictured after they were seized in a raid in Karachi, Pakistan.

Smuggled animals turtles
Black spotted freshwater turtles are pictured after they were seized in a raid, at Sindh Wildlife Department in Karachi, Pakistan. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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Authorities caught a man trying to smuggle 22 endangered yellow-crested cockatoos out of Indonesia inside water bottles.

Smuggled animals cockatoo
A policeman holds a water bottle with a yellow-crested cockatoo put inside for illegal trade, at the customs office of Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, East Java province, Indonesia. Police arrested one man traveling by ship from Makassar, Sulawesi with 22 of the endangered cockatoos held inside water bottles. REUTERS/Antara Foto/Risyal Hidayat

Police are getting ready to hand this python off to members of the NGO WildAid in Cambodia.

python smuggled animals
Cambodian police officers hold a python before handing it to members of the NGO WildAid, after it was recovered from smugglers, in Kandal province, outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. REUTERS/Samrang Pring
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This baby orangutan was being smuggled out of an Indonesian forest so it could be sold for Rp25 million, or about $2000.

orangutan smuggled animals
A baby orangutan lies in a plastic crate, after it was seized from a wildlife trafficking syndicate, at a police office in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia. According to local media, police investigators arrested individuals from a wildlife trafficking syndicate who were attempting to smuggle out three orangutan babies, ranging between 6 to 12 months of age, from their forest in Aceh with the intention of selling them to buyers in Pekanbaru for the price of Rp25 million per orangutan. REUTERS/FB Anggoro/Antara Foto

This Mexican tarantula was potentially destined for the pet trade.

Mexican tarantula smuggled animals
A veterinarian holds a Mexican tarantula, which had been rescued with other animals while being trafficked illegally, at the Federal Wildlife Conservation Center on the outskirts of Mexico City. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
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The orangutan here was part of a group of 14 recovered in Thailand.

Reuters best wildlife animal images of 2015 orangutan
A keeper gives peanut to an orangutan inside a cage shortly after it arrived from Thailand at Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta, November 12, 2015. Fourteen orangutans smuggled into Thailand illegally were sent back to Indonesia on Thursday, but the operation was not without incident -- one of the powerful apes tore a wildlife officer's finger off when he tried to put them in cages. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Cambodian police officers found this turtle in a shipment of exotic creatures.

turtle smuggled animals
A turtle is seen as Cambodian police officers hand over wild animals to members of the WildAid NGO, after they were recovered from smugglers in Kandal province, outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. REUTERS/Samrang Pring
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These confiscated elvers (young eels) from the Philippines are worth about $524 per kilo and were on their way to Hong Kong.

elvers (young eels) smuggled animals
A plastic bag containing thousands of confiscated elvers (young eels) are shown to media at a cargo terminal in Ninoy Aquino International airport in Manila, Philippines. Airport authorities confiscated some two million elvers, weighing around 949 kg and amounting to 22,000 pesos ($524) per kilo. The elvers were supposed to be shipped to Hong Kong, local media reported. According to Philippine law fingerlings are not to be exported unless for scientific or education purposes. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo

One of 27 saltwater crocodiles confiscated in one Indonesian seizure. Interpol estimates that only about 10% of the exotic animal trade is detected.

baby saltwater crocodile smuggled animals
An officer holds a baby saltwater crocodile at BKSDA (Natural Resources Conservation Board) office in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The reptile is one of 27 saltwater crocodiles confiscated as they were being smuggled from Central Kalimantan province to Central Java for trade. REUTERS/Dwi Oblo

Source: National Geographic

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These long-tailed macaque babies were found on a truck crossing from Vietnam into China.

Long-tailed macaque babies smuggled animals
Long-tailed macaque babies are seen inside a basket as police seized a truck smuggling them from Vietnam to China, in Changsha, Hunan province, China. REUTERS/Stringer

These 81 baby iguanas were found in Costa Rica hotel, presumably bound for the pet trade.

iguanas smuggled animals
Rescued baby iguanas are pictured in a cardboard box, in an office of the Ministry of Environment in San Jose, May 25, 2015. Officers from the national police force of Costa Rica rescued 81 iguanas that had been confined to a box at a hotel in San Jose. It is presumed that the captive iguanas were the subject of an exotic pet smuggling, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Public Security. The Ministry of the Environment rehabilitated the iguanas to a natural habitat today. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate
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This Mexican coyote sits in a government facility on the outskirts of Mexico City after being rescued.

coyote smuggled animals
A Mexican coyote, that had been rescued with other animals while being trafficked illegally, is seen through the bars of an enclosure at the Federal Wildlife Conservation Center on the outskirts of Mexico City. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

These falcons, recovered in Pakistan, are worth approximately $9,600 each.

Falcons smuggled animals
Falcons are seen at the offices of Sindh Wildlife Police after they were seized in Karachi, Pakistan. Twenty-two falcons worth one million rupees ($9,600) each were seized by the Rangers paramilitary force after they were discovered during a snap inspection along a toll booth, as they were being smuggled from Peshawar to Karachi. The birds were later handed over to Sindh Wildlife Department, reported local media. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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In this case, more than 90 turtles, monkeys, and parrots were found in plastic bags inside a dumpster, ready to be smuggled into El Salvadorean territory.

Terrapins smuggling animals
Terrapins are seen during a news conference in San Salvador, El Salvador. More than 90 turtles, monkeys and parrots were found in plastic bags inside a dumpster, ready to be smuggled into Salvadorean territory. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

This slow loris was taken from traders in Malaysia.

slow loris smuggline animals
A slow loris, seized during an operation against illegal wildlife traders, is carried in a cage by a wildlife department official in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
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Green turtles like this one are frequently poached for their meat and shells.

green turtle smuggling animals
A worker holds a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) after unloading it from a truck in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Police said they foiled an attempt to smuggle 71 green turtles for food. The turtles, caught in the waters off Sulawesi Island, have an average weight of 100 kilograms (220 pounds). REUTERS/Murdani Usman

This woman was caught with 51 tropical fish in this apron when customs officers heard splashing inside her skirt while she tried to catch a flight from Singapore to Melbourne.

smuggling animals
A woman on a flight from Singapore to Melbourne shows the 51 live tropical fish hidden in a specially designed apron under her skirt. Customs officers became suspicious after hearing "flipping" noises coming from the vicinity of her waist, and an examination revealed 15 plastic water-filled bags holding concealed fish. REUTERS/Handout/Australian Customs Service
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This coati was part of a group of animals seized in Mexico.

coati smuggling animals
A coati, which had been rescued from a home along with two others of its kind, sits inside its enclosure at the Federal Wildlife Conservation Center on the outskirts of Mexico City. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Pangolins like this newborn here are scaly mammals that many think are on their way to extinction because of trafficking. They're considered delicacies and their scales and blood are used in Chinese medicine.

pangolin smuggling animals
A newborn baby pangolin climbs the walls of a cage in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai custom office showed 175 pangolins they found hidden in a truck heading into Bangkok. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Source: CNN

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A German national shipped these tarantulas into the US, where the Fish and Wildlife Service confiscated them.

Tarantulas smuggling animals
Tarantulas, shipped by a German national into the United States by mail and confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. REUTERS/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

This serpent eagle was taken from traffickers in the Philippines.

serpent eagle smuggling animals
A serpent eagle sits inside its cage after being seized from illegal traders, at Manila's police district, Philippines. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo
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These spider monkeys were the lucky ones that survived their transport in a bag found on a bus.

Spider monkeys smuggling animals
Spider monkeys, that had been found on a bus inside a bag with three dead monkeys, rest in a hammock at the Federal Wildlife Conservation Center on the outskirts of Mexico City. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

This black rattlesnake was part of a larger shipment of animals intercepted by Mexican authorities.

rattlesnake smuggling animals
A black rattlesnake, which had been rescued with other animals while being trafficked illegally, is seen inside a plastic cylinder at the Federal Wildlife Conservation Center on the outskirts of Mexico City. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
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Ugandan officials confiscated this group of African grey parrots.

African grey parrots smuggling animals
African grey parrots rescued from an illegal trader by Ugandan officials at the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo border crossing are seen at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe, southwest of the capital Kampala, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A Pakistan customs official releases a seized falcon in Kirthar National Park.

falcon smuggling animals
A Pakistan customs official releases a falcon seized during a raid in Karachi, in Kirthar National Park, Pakistan. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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