A Russian national has been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle four Eurasian otters from Bali to Russia on Thursday night. The 35-year-old suspect, identified only as RT, was found with the near-threatened mammals inside his luggage, as well as 10 scorpions.

RT was stopped at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport before he was able to board Korean Air flight KE 634 to Seoul, where he would be in transit before heading to Moscow. However, when his luggage passed through the X-ray scanner at the airport’s international departure gate, aviation security found something suspicious in his green suitcase.

“After a manual search, our aviation security found four living otters that were put inside the luggage,” said Ngurah Rai airport general manager Haruman Sulaksono on Friday.

The four otters were inside a rattan box inside the suitcase. Additionally, scorpions were found stuffed inside another box that was also in the suitcase. 

Following the discovery, the aviation security officers immediately coordinated with the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), which confirmed that the otters were protected under the Conservation Law.

The animals were immediately taken to the BKSDA office. A medical examination found that they were suffering from dehydration. To medically treat the otters, the BKSDA handed them over to Bali Safari and Marine Park.

BKSDA Bali office head Budhy Kurniawan said the otters were of the lutra lutra species. “There are many species of otter in Indonesia. This species of otter are protected by our Conservation Law,” Budhy said.

Based on the suspect’s statement, Budhy said the otters were bought from Satria Bird Market in Denpasar. “He bought them for Rp 500,000 [US$35] each. So he paid Rp 2 million in total for four otters,” he said.

The scorpions, he said, were also bought at the same market. However, it was not clear how much was paid for the arachnids. “The scorpion is not a protected animal,” he added.

Budhy said law enforcers in Bali should take serious note of the alleged smuggling attempt, as similar cases occurred in the past.

Earlier in March, a Russian man identified as Zhestkov Andrei was arrested for attempting to smuggle a baby orangutan from Bali to Russia. The suspect was also on a flight via Seoul. At that time, the baby orangutan was drugged and stuffed inside a rattan box that was found inside his suitcase.

“We should identify their syndicate. Russia is actually not the consumer area. They might act as a courier. However, their acts are comparable in terms of how they put the animals inside their suitcases,” he said.

In the latest case, the otters were not found drugged. A bottle of milk was found inside the suitcase.

I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Police chief Comr. Agung Raka Nugraha said the police were still investigating the case. The Russian faces charges under Law No. 5/1990 on the conservation of living natural resources and their ecosystems, which carries a punishment of five years’ imprisonment and a Rp 100 million fine. 

“Our investigation are still ongoing,” Agung Raka said.

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