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View all search resultsAuthorities prevent attempted smuggling of wildlife to Thailand
The suspect attempted to smuggle 53 cages of protected wildlife, mostly birds.
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A cage full of lovebirds is among the protected wildlife ready to be smuggled to Thailand from the eastern coast of Aceh, as displayed by the Forestry Ministry's Sumatra Forestry Law Enforcement Agency in Banda Aceh on Feb. 2, 2026. (Courtesy of Forestry Ministry/-)
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nvestigators from the Sumatra Forestry Law Enforcement Agency (Gakkum) have named a suspect in the attempted smuggling of hundreds of protected wild animals, including an orangutan, to Thailand.
Identified only as AS, the suspect is a resident of North Aceh regency, Aceh, and is currently being detained at the Aceh Police detention center.
Hundreds of animals have been being impounded by investigators, with one orangutan and three East Javan langurs receiving medical treatment at the Animal Rescue Center in Sibolangit, North Sumatra.
The director general of forestry law enforcement at the Forestry Ministry, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, said AS was the entry point for the Gakkum team to break up the animal smuggling syndicate.
Dwi said he suspected the involvement of an organized international crime network in the case.
“Gakkum will cooperate with the Financial Transactions Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), prosecutors, police and other related institutions to trace the suspect’s network and money trail,” he told reporters on Monday.
“We have ordered investigators to examine the involvement of the suspect and other culprits in the international network smuggling protected wild animals abroad.”
