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View all search resultsTwo Vietnamese arrested in East Java over smuggling of 3,400 songbirds
Rosek Nursahid, founder of the wildlife conservation organization ProFauna Indonesia said that illegal imports of songbirds from neighboring nations like Vietnam and Malaysia are directly driven by the depletion of Indonesia’s own wild populations after decades of overhunting.
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Officers from the Bali Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Agency (BBKHIT) show 284 birds from various types after thwarting a smuggling effort at Gilimanuk Port in Jembrana, Bali, on Aug. 3, 2026. The smuggling interception operation involved officers from Bali BBKHIT, Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and Gilimanuk Port Police. (Antara/Bali BBKHIT)
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uthorities have arrested two Vietnamese citizens in East Java after they allegedly smuggled nearly 3,400 songbirds from Vietnam without the required health certificates or import documentation.
The suspects, identified only as LVT and LM, were detained during a raid last week at a warehouse in Kepatihan village, Sidoarjo regency.
Sr. Comr. Setyo Kusheriatno, head of special crimes investigation at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri), said the two individuals were acting on instructions from another Vietnamese national, identified only as ALY.
"Their instructions were to guard the warehouse, inspect the birds, log the numbers of live and dead birds, and give the birds food and water," Setyo said.
"These birds were brought in from abroad without a health certificate from their country of origin, did not pass through designated points of entry and were not reported or surrendered to quarantine officials," he added.
According to Setyo the seized birds comprised three popular species: Black-throated Laughingthrushes (Pterorhinus chinensis), Chinese Hwameis (Garrulax canorus) and Black-collared Starlings (Sturnus nigricollis). Out of the total 3,394 birds at the warehouse, 3,233 birds were found alive, while 161 were found dead.
On the Indonesian market, these birds sell for between Rp 1.5 million and Rp 3 million (US$55-83) each, putting the total estimated value of the smuggled shipment between Rp 4.8 billion and Rp 9.6 billion.
