Aranya Bhawan, Karnataka, 21^st June, 2022:

Sitting in the comfort of our homes, making calls across the state, and even the country, does not seem like a tedious task. But if we are to tell you that these calls can be traced right to the corner of the room where you are sitting, it would largely change the scenario of how you view your mobile phones. The thin line between technology being a boon to becoming a bane is perfectly characterized by the tracing of such calls. While telephones and mobile phones were introduced to help us stay connected no matter where we are, it has lately been a catalyst in connecting wildlife contraband traffickers to buyers, thus making it a convenient method of trading without any interception or interruption.

However, for every person misusing technology, there is a technique to fix what is wrong. This technique analyses the detailed call record information and records call duration, time of call, source, and destination number including the exact location from where the call is being made and where it is being made to. It is known as Call Data Record (CDR) analysis and has been used increasingly for human-related offenses to investigate homicides, abductions and kidnappings, extortion, and economic frauds. However, the use of this technique in wildlife crime investigation has been very limited, and even when it is used, the Forest Department is heavily dependent on other law enforcement agencies for the analysis as they have very little or restricted knowledge of the same.

Workshop on Call Data Record (CDR) in Karnataka | Photo by Mahima Sharma

Using tech to address online wildlife crime

To bridge this gap, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) along with the Karnataka Forest Department organized a workshop on CDR Analysis and Investigation for the frontline forest staff and senior forest officials. The workshop was led by Mr. Manoj Dube and Mr. Ketan Desai of Ketan Computers, a leading company based out of Mumbai, Maharashtra which has developed the CDR Analysis and Investigation software to assist security agencies and enforcement agencies. They have previously assisted WTI in many wildlife crime cases with the most notable of all being Operation Shikaar in 2015.

Operation Shikaar was the first operation in the country to use sophisticated CDR software analysis to track the widespread network of elephant poaching and ivory trade in the country by tracing the calls made between the dealers. The detailed analysis of call records between middlemen and poachers from Kerala led to the enforcement agencies busting the huge haul. The operation led to the arrest of 73 accused and the seizure of nearly 487 kgs of ivory that was broadly estimated to be Rs. 13 crores on the international black market. With the support of the Kerala Forest Department, Delhi Police, and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, WTI was able to track down the organized wildlife crime syndicate and put the accused behind bars.

A push towards tech-equipped wildlife enforcement

WTI team, based out of Karnataka, coordinated with the Karnataka Forest Department and organized a workshop on CDR Analysis and Investigation, which encouraged participation from frontline forest staff and senior forest officials. The primary purpose of the workshop was to acquaint the Forest Department with CDR Analysis technology and how to incorporate it for wildlife crime investigation.

The workshop was held at Aranya Bhawan, Bengaluru with a total of 43 participants from the Karnataka Forest Department. The workshop was inaugurated by Shri Vijaykumar Gogi, IFS, PCCF Wildlife with Shri Kumar Pushkar, IFS, APCCF Wildlife, and Smt. Seema Garg, IFS, APCCF Vigilance. The participants, senior officials of the Forest Department and the resource persons were welcomed by Mr. Venkata Naidu, Project Head for Wildlife Crime Control Division, Karnataka, with a formal speech after which, Shri. Vijaykumar Gogi delivered the inaugural speech on the importance of capacity-building and skill development workshops and how they play a crucial role in wildlife conservation.

The sessions in the workshop were centered around how CDR works and the technology that is used for the software, along with Cell ID and the collection of Cell ID at the place of crime. There was a detailed session on International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), and International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers. IMEI can be considered the fingerprint of a mobile phone implying that it is a unique 15-digit number that enables tracking of smartphones that are suspected to be compromised or stolen. Similarly, the IMSI number is used by Network Operators for identifying which country the user is operating from as it studies the country code of the mobile phone instrument.

The resource persons kept the workshop interactive by explaining various case studies to the participants and assigning them tasks wherein they were asked to identify network providers and telecom circles of the mobile numbers. Towards the end of the workshop, the participants were given details on the CDR analysis software that can be useful for tracing calls of suspects and how to analyze the reports generated from the software to strengthen investigation in cases.

At the conclusion of the workshop, feedback forms were distributed among the participants and their responses were centered on how useful this workshop was for their field. The participants requested more such workshops that would allow them to prevent wildlife crime using innovative technology and speedy investigative mechanisms.

As a part of the Wildlife Crime Prevention Assistance project in Karnataka, Wildlife Trust of India actively works across five Tiger Reserves and assists the Karnataka Forest Department in anti-snare walks, cases of legal assistance, wildlife crime prevention trainings, and the investigation of cases of poaching and electrocution in Karnataka. We are grateful to Fondation Segré for their indomitable support that helps us enable the protection of the pristine forests of Karnataka.