JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry has named RPS (23) as a suspect in the case of alleged trade in protected wildlife body parts after being arrested in Padang City, West Sumatra. From the suspect's hands, investigators seized one sack of pangolin scales and 16 hornbill beaks suspected of being traded.
The arrest was made on July 27, 2026 on Jalan By Pass Km 6, Simpang Parak Pisang, Pauh District, Padang City, through a joint operation of the Regional Forestry Law Enforcement Office for Sumatra, the West Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (KSDA Sumbar Agency), and the West Sumatra Regional Police (Polda Sumbar).
Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, said that the disclosure of this case should not stop at the perpetrators who were caught carrying evidence.
"The disclosure in Padang shows the importance of breaking the chain of trade since the hunting and collection stages in the area, before the body parts of the animals are consolidated and move towards a larger distribution network," said Dwi in Jakarta, Friday, July 31.
According to Dwi, wildlife trafficking must be seen as a crime involving a network from upstream to downstream. Therefore, every disclosure of cases must be directed to tracing hunters, collectors, suppliers, transporters, intermediaries, to those who control the trade network.
"Wildlife trade must be handled as a chain of crime from upstream to downstream. Previously, the Directorate General of Forestry Gakkum had uncovered a case of 3,053 kilograms of pangolin scales that were allegedly to be sent to Cambodia as well as the smuggling of 796.34 kilograms of pangolin scales from a Vietnamese-flagged ship at Merak Port," he said.
This action is part of the Ministry of Forestry's policy in strengthening the protection of protected wildlife. The directive, said Dwi, is in line with the policy of the Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni who places wildlife protection as one of the priorities in the forestry sector.
The Ministry of Forestry has strengthened supervision through field patrols, cyber patrols, the use of digital technology, intelligence development, and cooperation with law enforcement agencies to break up the wildlife trade network.
The disclosure of the case began with information from the public regarding the alleged trade in parts of wildlife bodies around Padang City. The information was then analyzed through cyber patrols by personnel from the Regional Forestry Gakkum Office for Sumatra to map the activities and movements of perpetrators.
The results of the analysis were followed up through field operations until the team arrested RPS at around 20.00 WIB along with evidence. In addition to the pangolin scales and the pangolin beak, investigators also seized one mobile phone and one motorcycle that were suspected of being related to the trading activity.
RPS who is a resident of Malancan Village, North Siberut District, Kepulauan Mentawai Regency, is currently being held at the Anak Air Class IIB State Detention House, Padang. All evidence was seized for the purposes of investigation.
The suspect was charged with Article 40A paragraph (1) letter f in conjunction with Article 21 paragraph (2) letter c of Law Number 32 of 2024 concerning Amendments to Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning the Conservation of Natural Living Resources and Ecosystems. The threat of punishment is in the form of imprisonment for a minimum of three years and a maximum of 15 years, as well as a fine of Rp. 200 million to Rp. 5 billion.
Dwi emphasized that every part of the body of the animal being traded shows the loss of the animal from its natural habitat.
"Every case must be a gateway to tracing hunters, collectors, suppliers, transporters, intermediaries, end buyers, to those who control and gain profit. Law enforcement strategies continue to be strengthened through intelligence, cyber patrols, examination of communication flows, as well as cross-regional and cross-border cooperation. Every pangolin scales and pangolin scales traded indicate the loss of animals from their natural habitat. Therefore, breaking the trade network is an important part of protecting Indonesia's biodiversity and forest ecosystems," he said.
Head of the Regional Forestry Gakkum Office for Sumatra, Hari Novianto, confirmed that action against the trade in protected wildlife would continue.
"We will continue to synergize with relevant law enforcement agencies to eradicate hunting and trading activities of protected animals in order to maintain their sustainability. And we also continue to strengthen the use of technology such as Cyber Patrol, and Intelligence Center for the supervision of trade in protected animals," said Hari.
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