Ministry Of Environment And Forestry Acting On Cigarette Pipe Trade From Rhino Horn And Elephant Ivory

Evidence of buying and selling parts of protected wildlife in the form of rhino horn online was confiscated by the Team of the Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Police in Central Java, Sunday (13/9/2020). (ANTARA / HO-KLHK)

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) is cracking down on online trade in parts of protected wildlife in the form of rhino horn and cigarette pipes from elephant ivory in Sukoharjo and Surakarta City, Central Java.

Reported by Antara, Tuesday, September 15, Director of Forest Protection and Law Enforcement (Gakkum), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Sustyo Iriyono said that the successful disclosure of cases of trade in parts of protected wildlife originated from the results of the investigation by the Cyber Patrol Team for the Trade of Plants and Animals (TSL). The Directorate General of Gakkum collaborates online with activists to save protected wildlife.

Sustyo said the search was carried out by the Gakkum KLHK since September 2019 on a Facebook account that had uploaded the trade in parts of protected animals in the form of rhino horn.

The KLHK Gakkum Team and supported by the Sukorharjo Police and Surakarta Police have succeeded in securing evidence of suspected rhino horn from the five perpetrators in Sukoharjo. The perpetrators with initials were TS (39), ASG (59), AS (41), SS (57), and LGN (24).

Furthermore, the team developed and succeeded in securing MS (52) as the owner of the TP Pusat Batu Permata kiosk in Solo, as well as evidence in the form of one rhino horn and 16 cigarette pipes suspected of originating from Sumatran elephant ivory.

The Operations Team brought the perpetrators and evidence to the Sukoharjo Police and examined the 6 perpetrators.

The plan is for civil servant investigators Gakkum KLHK to conduct forensic DNA tests on rhino horn and cigarette pipes. The move was taken to ensure that the rhino horn and elephant ivory came from parts of the wildlife that were protected by law.

Based on provisional information from the perpetrator, two rhino horns will be sold for IDR 150,000,000, while the 16 cigarette pipes allegedly made of elephant ivory cost IDR 75,000,000.

Sustyo emphasized that the perpetrators will be charged under Article 21 paragraph (2) letter d in conjunction with Article 40 paragraph (2), Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems, with a maximum imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine. a lot of IDR 100,000,000.

"We hope that the perpetrators of this crime against animals must be punished as severely as possible so that there will be an effect of the trap," said Sustyo.

Meanwhile, Director General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Rasio Ridho Sani, said that it was related to the threat of hunting and illegal trade in protected wild plants and animals.

"We continue to improve monitoring of protected wildlife trade activities, including online trading. We have a special team, Cyber Patrol, which detects the crime of illegal TSL trade in cyberspace early and eradicates and exposes the network to its roots, and submits a request to freeze the account, "said Rasio.

In connection with the prosecution, he expressed his appreciation for the team's work which succeeded in uncovering the TSL trade network in Central Java Province.