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North Sumatra police arrest orangutan trader
Police also found two orangutans, a male and a female, both approximately only five months old, allegedly linked to the trader.
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An orangutan hangs from a tree in the Mount Leuser National Park, in northern Sumatra. (Courtesy of Tangkahan Community Tour Operator/-)
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meta charset="utf-8">North Sumatra Police have arrested an alleged orangutan trader who sold to overseas customers, identified as Ramadhani, 37, also known as Bolang, in Langsa, in the neighboring province of Aceh.
North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hadi Wahyudi said Bolang was named as a suspect as the police had gotten hold of evidence of him trading orangutans, including to buyers in foreign countries.
“The suspect traded orangutans even to customers overseas. He is part of an international network [of wildlife traders],” Hadi told reporters at the North Sumatra Police Headquarters in Medan on Wednesday.
He said that Bolang’s arrest was a follow-up of a case last week when Reza Heryadi, who worked as a courier for Bolang, was arrested in the Harjosari subdistrict of Medan on Sept. 27.
Hadi said the police also confiscated evidence of Reza's wildlife trading: two orangutans, a male and a female, both approximately only five months old.
“These two orangutans originated from Aceh,” Hadi said, adding that Reza was planning to bring the two orangutans using a minibus to Jakarta.
He said the orangutan trade could not have been uncovered without the cooperation of authorities from the Gunung Leuser National Park in Aceh. The two orangutans are currently in the care of the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency.
Agency head Rudianto Saragih Napitu said that the two orangutans were healthy.
“We are currently rehabilitating these two protected animals at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Center in Batumbelin village, Sibolangit district, Deli Serdang regency,” Rudianto said. (ami)
