The Forestry Ministry has arrested a suspected member of an international pangolin trafficking network following an investigation into two major trafficking cases in recent months.The suspect, identified only as EO, was arrested by ministry officials in Semarang, Central Java, and has been handed over to the Central Java Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution.
Aswin Bangun, head of the ministry’s Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara forestry enforcement agency, said EO was arrested as part of an investigation into two major pangolin trafficking cases uncovered by the ministry in recent months.
“The investigation led our officers to a local trafficking network in Semarang. At the time of his arrest, EO was found in possession of three live pangolins and 20 kilograms of pangolin scales,” he said in a recent statement.
EO has been charged under Article 40 of the Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of Rp 5 billion (US$276,687).
In February, customs officials at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 3 tonnes of pangolin scales to Cambodia. The shipment was estimated to be worth around Rp183 billion. Environmental groups estimate that between 15,000 and 24,000 pangolins were killed to obtain this quantity of scales.
