Selling Rare Animals Like Forest Cats And Pangolins Through Facebook, Youth In West Sumatra Threatened With 5 Years In Prison

The West Sumatra Police holds a press conference for the arrest of a man selling protected animals (ANTARA)

W Sumatra - The Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimsus) of the West Sumatra Police (West Sumatra) together with the West Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) arrested a man with the initials MAD (30) who is suspected of selling protected animals online.

The Head of Public Relations of the West Sumatra Police, Kombes Satake Bayu, said the perpetrator was caught in the act of trading protected animals alive by officers. MAD was arrested Friday, March 11 on Jalan Kampang Jua, Kampung Jua Village, Lubuk Begalung (Lubeg) District.

"From the hands of the perpetrators, evidence was secured in the form of three jungle cats (Prionailurus Bengaliensis) alive, a pangolin (Mavis Javanica) and a brown baning turtle (Manouria Emys) alive, and a cell phone unit," he explained at the time. press conference in Padang, Antara, Tuesday, March 15.

According to him, the row of animals traded by the perpetrators is included in the red list of endangered animals based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Perpetrators sell live animals by entering pictures or videos of animals that will be sold on the Facebook application @Pedas Padang. In addition, they are also sold through the WhatsApp application.

The perpetrator admitted to buying this protected animal from the hands of someone else. For example, one bobcat (Prionailurus Bengaliensis) is priced at Rp. 200 thousand per head and is resold at a price of Rp. 350 thousand per head.

Meanwhile, a pangolin (Mavis Javanica) was bought by the perpetrators for Rp. 1 million and then resold to local buyers for Rp. 3 million. Then the brown baning turtle (Manouria Emys) was bought alive for Rp. 200 thousand and then sold to local buyers for Rp. 500 thousand.

"This activity has been going on since October 2021 until the perpetrators were arrested by officers," he said.

The perpetrator is suspected of Article 40 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 21 paragraph (2) letter a of Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and Their Ecosystems with a maximum imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of Rp. 100,000,000.

Meanwhile, Kanit I Sub-Directorate IV of the Ditreskrimsus of the West Sumatra Police, AKP Gusnedi, said the perpetrator was arrested after his party together with the West Sumatra BKSDA received information from the public. And the perpetrator is related to the perpetrator who was previously arrested.

"Based on information from the public, it is indeed the same network as the perpetrators who were arrested and have been arrested previously," he said.