REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TANGERANG -- Two Kuwaiti nationals and a German national were arrested for attempting to smuggle protected animals out of Indonesia through Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
Hamad Aha Alsaleh and Khaled Aha Alsaleh from Kuwait and Dieter Puschmann from Germany are now under investigation and may be charged for violating Law Number 5 of 1990 on Natural Resource Conservation.
"We have foiled attempts to smuggle protected animal species, which are part of Indonesia's natural resources and biodiversity," Head of the Ministry of Agriculture's quarantine service, Banun Harpini, stated at a press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport's animal quarantine installation here on Wednesday.
Banun remarked that the incidents came to light following a report from an airline company that one of the owners of the baggage it would carry had been involved in turtle smuggling.
The first incident took place at 11.30 p.m. on June 5, 2014, at Terminal IIE involving primates, reptiles, and birds using Kuwait Air KU416 bound to Kuwait and involved the Kuwaiti suspects.
"Generally, attempts are made at 'injury time' when officers are off guard and sleepy at the final flight," Banun pointed out.
Banun noted that most of the animal species to be smuggled out of the country are included in the Appendix I Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
"We have been warned about the rampant trading of animal species, and so we have intensified our efforts to prevent it," she stressed.
The animals categorized under Appendix I who were to be smuggled out are an orangutan (one of them alive), siamang (two alive and two others dead), Javan gibbon (three alive), king cockatoo (two alive, one dead), and sunda slow loris (one alive).
The animals under Appendix II category are batik pythons (92 alive, five dead) and those under Appendix III category are 'cucak hijau' birds (chlorpsisi sonnonrati-two alive).
Banun explained that the smugglers drugged the animals before they were put into two large suitcases.
"According to our veterinarians, some of the animals had died because the dose of the anesthetic drug was equally given regardless of whether they are adults or still babies," she reiterated.
Banun added that the second incident occurred on June 9, 2014, at Terminal II D involving protected exotic birds from Papua, including birds of paradise and sicklebill (epimachus meyer).
The birds were to be smuggled out of Indonesia to Paris by Malaysian Air MH 724 by the German national.
Banun stated that two birds of paradise and three king birds of paradise were alive while four others had died, and seven papua red cica were still alive and one had died.
"The method used is the same wherein the suspect drugged the birds before they were put into a suitcase, thereby causing the animals to suffer from stress and dehydration," she pointed out.
Banun remarked that all the animals had been handed over to the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Natural Conservation of the Ministry of Forestry.
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