D

emand for protected species, including orangutans, on the black market has remained high despite the authorities’ continued campaign for their preservation.

Syndicates illegally trading in orangutans originating from Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) have been uncovered following the recent seizure of five orangutans ready to be traded in Jakarta and Medan, North Sumatra.

Daniek Hendarto, the coordinator of the Center for Orangutan Protection (COP), said the seizure of the five orangutans within the last week indicated that the illegal trade in protected animals was still
rampant.

“Just in a week, five orangutans were seized. This is a big number and proves that the orangutan trade is still there in the community,” Daniek told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said the five orangutans were seized from two separate places by a team from the National Police together with a number of non-governmental organizations, including COP.

Daniek said one of the orangutans was seized from Kampung Rambutan in Jakarta on Sunday. It was a one-year-old orangutan and was to be traded by suspect HN, 33, currently in police custody.

Two days later, he added, the same team seized four baby orangutans in Medan. They were brought by suspect Z from South Aceh to Medan to be further transported to Jakarta to be traded. They were seized when the car that Z was driving was stopped at a mosque in Medan.

“Z is currently being examined by the North Sumatra Police while the baby orangutans have been sent to the quarantine center at Batu Mbelin, Sibolangit,” said Daniek, adding that the four baby orangutans were in good condition.

Daniek also said the traders of the orangutans seized in Jakarta and Medan came from different syndicates, but both traded in orangutans from TNGL.

“The syndicates are being investigated by the team from the National Police,” said Daniek, adding that he had accompanied the team over the last few days.

He said the syndicates were very sophisticated and that they used social media to market orangutans to the public.

An orangutan traded directly from its habitat in Aceh and Kalimantan, he said, was priced at between Rp 10 million [US$1,140] to Rp 15 million. In Java, however, the price increased fantastically to between Rp 50 million and Rp 100 million each.

Daniek said Java was a market place for the protected animals because apart from the high number of consumers, Java was also an exit gate to smuggle out orangutans to countries like Thailand and Malaysia.

“The price abroad is very expensive, could reach up to four times more than that in Java,” he said.

This, he said, had tempted many people to trade in orangutans and so the trade had increased over time.

“Last year, we helped foil seven attempts to trade orangutans and other protected animals in East, Central and West Java. This year, as of July, the figure is already six, including the cases in Jakarta and Medan”.

Thanks to the rampant trade in orangutans, the population of the animal continues to decrease. COP predicts the current population of orangutans in Sumatra is around 5,000, while in Kalimantan there are around 7,000.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Robin Simatupang of the North Sumatra Police’s special crimes directorate said the suspects recently arrested by the National Police were still being probed at the headquarters of the North Sumatra Police.

Robin said the team was still developing the case to look for other perpetrators.

“The team from the National Police has been here for a few days to uncover the orangutan syndicate,” he said.