Soekarno-Hatta Police Arrest Egyptian National Over Pangolin Scale Trafficking
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13 April 2023 07:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a tourist from Egypt identified as ASH (40) after this individual had been caught smuggling dozens of kilograms of pangolin scales.
“In total, authorities confiscated 67.8 kilograms worth of scales as evidence,” said the police’s chief of investigation and criminal unit Commissioner Reza Fahlevi on April 12.
According to police reports, ASH, and his two accomplices were apprehended at the Soekarno-Hatta cargo terminal in mid-February. The accomplices were Indonesian nationals and were arrested in separate locations in Banten and Bandung.
The suspects had conspired to illegally traffic the scales of the protected wildlife for three months prior. Police initially went undercover as buyers in order to entice the suspect.
“The scales the suspect carried were worth hundreds of millions of Rupiah,” Reza explained. “It would need 271 pangolins to collect a total of 67.8 kilograms worth of skin.”
Pangolin protection is regulated in Law No. 5/1990 concerning the Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems, which regulates the use of wild plant and animal species. The suspects now face criminal charges of up to five years imprisonment and a maximum fine reaching Rp100 million.
JONIANSYAH HARDJONO
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