The Environment and Forestry Ministry’s director general of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE), Wiratno, said that a syndicate had been involved in the crime for three years, and had sold at least 41 Komodo dragons to an overseas buyer for around Rp 500 million (US$35,217) per animal.

The KSDAE is improving efforts to prevent such cases by increasing cooperation with military and civilian authorities in the area.

Six Komodo dragons were confiscated from smugglers between Feb. 22 and March 8 in East Java.

The East Java Police have arrested eight suspected smugglers who are currently being held at the police headquarters in Surabaya. One suspect is still at large.

The police believe that the smugglers smuggled the Komodo dragons through Ende Port.

As a consequence security measures at Ende Port, which is at the southern end of Flores Island, have been tightened.

Security measures at Labuan Bajo Port, which is at the western part of the Flores Island and directly opposite Komodo Island, have also been tightened.

Labuan Bajo Port is the entry and exit point from West Manggarai, West Flores, to Sape Port in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara.

“The security at Labuan Bajo has been increased by the West Manggarai Police in coordination with related agencies such as Syahbandar Labuan Bajo,” Adj. Comr. Julisa Kusumawardono, head of West Manggarai Police on Flores Island said.

NTT Police and Komodo National Park management have agreed on joint patrols in the park. “This is important to prevent Komodo smuggling cases in the Komodo National Park,” Julisa said.

The KSDAE also plans to develop community based eco-tourism with Komodo dragons as its main attraction in areas outside the conservation area, mainly on Longos Island and Pota Conservation Forest.

“[We also want to] draft a village regulation with the village, district and regency apparatus in cooperation with churches for the protection of Komodo dragons and their habitat,” Wiratno said.

Komodo National Park on Komodo Island was named A World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1991 and included as the New Seven Wonders in 2001. The 173,300-hectare park, which comprises five islands, is home to more than 2,800 Komodo dragons.

The dragons are the largest living species of lizard in the world, and can grow up to 3 meters in length. They have extremely poisonous saliva, so deadly that only a nip can prove fatal.

The lizards are also commonly found on nearby islands, including Flores and Rinca.

Listed as one of the most endangered species in the world, trafficking remains one of the most dangerous threats to their preservation.

“Experts from the Genetics Laboratory on Zoology at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences [LIPI] found that based on the morphology of the snout, as well as the body and tongue color, [the smuggled Komodo dragons] were identified as originating from Flores, not from Komodo National Park,” said Wiratno.

“Many people do not know that Komodo dragons also live outside Komodo Island,” Wiratno said.

The Komodo dragons will be returned to their wild habitat based on their places of origin as determined by DNA testing.

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