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ProFauna, police bust illegal wildlife trade syndicate

The wildlife protection group ProFauna Indonesia and the East Java Police have joined forces to bust an illegal wildlife trade valued at billions of rupiah by an international syndicate based in Surabaya

Indra Harsaputra (The Jakarta Post)
Surabaya
Wed, June 3, 2009

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ProFauna, police bust illegal wildlife trade syndicate

The wildlife protection group ProFauna Indonesia and the East Java Police have joined forces to bust an illegal wildlife trade valued at billions of rupiah by an international syndicate based in Surabaya.

Endangered animals seized in the bust include 26 black-capped lories, sulphur-crested cockatoos and Tanimbar corellas.

Police also arrested a suspect identified only as Sup.

"Besides acting as a transit point for the drug trade, Surabaya is also a transit point for the illegal international trade of wildlife species," East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam told reporters Tuesday.

"We caught Sup before he could send the protected animals to Malaysia, were they would be worth billions of rupiah."

He added the case had been handed over to East Java Prosecutors Office on May 26.

The suspect, a trader at the Bratang Bird Market, was arrested in his rented home in Nginden, West Semampir, Surabaya.

"The suspect runs a stall at the market, but was arrested at his home," Anton said.

Ha added the police would also conduct a raid along with ProFauna at the market, believed to be the center for the illegal wildlife trade in the province.

Police will also conduct surveillance on wildlife poaching in Sempu Island, Malang regency, and the Meru Betiti National Park in East Java, also believed to be a hotbed of wildlife poaching.

"We are committed to catching the wildlife traders, because the trade in protected animals violates Law No. 5/1990 on biological natural resources conservation and ecosystems," Anton said.

Violation of the law is punishable with up to five years in prison and fines of up to Rp 500 million (US$48,000).

ProFauna campaign officer Tri Prayudi said losses incurred from wildlife trade in Indonesia reached Rp 9 trillion annually, Rp 200 billion of which involved cockatoos and parrots.

"Besides urging police action, we have also pushed the government to scrap its plan to build a prison on Sempu Island, which could damage the environment and threaten the island's wildlife with extinction," Tri told The Jakarta Post.

Sempu Island, which spans 877 hectares, is located off the southern coast of Java and is part of Malang regency.

Despite its status as a protected area, the Malang regency administration plans to build a prison there similar to that on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java.

Tri said ProFauna had urged the government to suspend the plan in 2007, but a full halt has not been called.

Sempu Island is home to a wealth of diverse biological resources, including 85 bird and 15 mammal species.

ProFauna studies show 26 of the bird species there are protected, and three are included in the list of endangered species.

ProFauna's 2007-2008 report stated Surabaya was a "trading gate" for parrots and cockatoos from North Maluku and Papua headed for the domestic and overseas markets.

"In 2008, about 1,000 parrots and cockatoos were sold in domestic markets and smuggled to the Philippines," the report said.

"Surabaya's bird markets, including Bratang, Pasar Turi and Kupang, have become bird trade centers."

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