That criminal networks are active in the illegal exploitation of timber is increasingly acknowledged. The degree of organization of these networks, and the way in which they use (threats of) violence and corruption, is less known. This article describes and analyses, on the basis of various, including local, sources, how organized criminal groups in the Amazon rainforest illegally harvest trees which they sell on the (international) market and how they try to stay immune from the law by using threats, violence, fraud and corruption. This article also discusses the first results of a three-year pilot (2014-2017) of community-based forest monitoring and protection with waterproof GPS-camera’s, developed with communities and with support of the Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Office.