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ix orangutans previously smuggled overseas are set to undergo a rehabilitation program in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, before being released into their natural habitat.

The orangutans were flown on Wednesday from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, to Sepinggan Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

The primates were later transported on a truck to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation'€™s (BOSF) rehabilitation facility in Nyaru Menteng, Central Kalimantan.

BOSF CEO Jamartin Sihite said the orangutans were sent to Nyaru Menteng because their DNA tests had revealed that they were a species of orangutan native to Central Kalimantan.

'€œThey need to be rehabilitated before being released into the jungle,'€ he said Wednesday.

Last year, the government rescued 16 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) that had been smuggled overseas with support from a number of countries.

Among the orangutans returned to Indonesia was 10-month-old Puspa, a Sumatran orangutan smuggled to Kuwait.

Upon her return to Indonesia, Puspa, along with six other orangutans, was later treated at a quarantine facility belonging to the Indonesian Safari Park in Bogor, West Java.

In the rehabilitation program, Puspa, however, had to be separated from her new friends, including a 3-year-old orangutan named Moza and another baby orangutan named Junior.

Puspa, according to Sihite, would be handed over to the Sumatra Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) based near Medan, North Sumatra. Moza, Junior and four other orangutans brought back from Thailand would be sent to the BOSF facility in Nyaru Menteng.

The rehabilitation program is part of the government'€™s effort to return the primates to their natural habitat safely.

'€œRehabilitation is needed to restore their health and to ease their wild behavior,'€ Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said.

The Swiss-based environmental organization International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) has listed the orangutan as an endangered species since 2000.

Sihite, meanwhile, said a strong commitment was needed from all parties to help dismantle the trade in wild animals.

He said the case of Puspa and Moza, who were smuggled to Kuwait on board commercial flights proved that smugglers were able to beat security measures at the country'€™s international airports.

'€œIt was a lack of commitment that made the smuggling of Puspa and Moza possible,'€ he said.

He expressed the hope that the commitment from law enforcement to eradicate the trade in wild animals would be strengthened over the coming years and that preventive measures would be implemented.

'€œThe law has to be firmly enforced,'€ he said.