Vietnamese Citizens Protected Animal Smugglers from Proboscis Monkeys to Yellow Crests in Pontianak Threatened with 5 Years in Prison

A number of protected animals secured by Pontianak Lantamal XII from the LVH suspect who is a Vietnamese citizen. ANTARA.

PONTIANAK - The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) stated that a Vietnamese citizen with the initials LVH who was named a suspect in the smuggling of dozens of protected animals was threatened with imprisonment for five years and a fine of IDR 100 million.

"It is known that LVH was the captain of the Vietnamese-flagged MV Royal 06 as well as the owner of protected animals from Indonesia which were planned to be smuggled to Vietnam. LVH was successfully secured during a Pontianak Lantamal XII patrol in the waters of the Pontianak River on December 20, 2022", said the Director General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ratio Ridho Sani in Pontianak was reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, February 15.

Ratio explained, during the patrol, 36 wild animals protected by law were found, in the form of 16 probosci's monkeys, Maluku parrots (10), chef's parrots (3), white parrots (3), birds yellow crested parrot (3 birds) and king parrot (1 bird).

Based on the results of the investigation by the suspect LVH, the animals were to be brought to Vietnam. These animals were purchased from several people and the origin of these animals is still being investigated by investigators.

"Currently, investigators are exploring the possibility of a cross-border (international) trading network of protected animals", he said.

Taking action against perpetrators of protected animal crimes is the government's commitment to protecting the wealth of biodiversity (Kehati) of the Indonesian nation.

This smuggling by foreign nationals is a threat to the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems which are very important for the life of the Indonesian nation.

According to him, the smuggling of protected animals is a serious, transnational crime and is of international concern. We must stop this crime and act decisively, the perpetrators must be punished to the maximum so that they have a deterrent effect and justice.

"For this reason, we appreciate all parties for their support in handling this case, especially Lantamal XII Pontianak, the West Kalimantan Police and the West Kalimantan Prosecutor's Office. The successful disclosure of this case is a joint work between law enforcement officials and evidence of the government's commitment to protecting biological resources", said Ratio Sani.

As a form of the government's commitment to protecting Indonesia's biological resources, especially crimes against wild plants and animals (TSL) which are protected from various threats and acts of crime, the Legal Aid Ministry of Environment and Forestry continues to strengthen various collaborations with law enforcement agencies and other institutions such as the police, Customs and Excise, TNI -AL, Bakamla, Agricultural Quarantine Agency, BKSDA, PPATK, and the Attorney General's Office.

"Besides that, we continue to strengthen the use of technology such as cyber patrols and intelligence centres to control the trade in protected animals", he said.

According to him, the consistency of the KLHK's Legal Law in safeguarding and law enforcement against TSL crimes is very important, to ensure that biological wealth is Indonesia's comparative advantage that other countries do not have so that it remains sustainable.

"Currently the Legal Actions of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry have carried out 1,915 Operations to Safeguard the Environment and Forest Areas in Indonesia, 453 of them Operations on Wild Plants and Animals have been carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry together with other Ministries/Agencies and 1,348 criminal and civil cases have been brought to court, both related to corporate and criminal offenders. individual", he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Kalimantan Region KLHK's Gakkum Center, Eduward Hutapea, said the Kalimantan Region's KLHK's Gakkum investigators had conducted an examination and named LVH as a suspect.

The perpetrators were charged with Article 21 Paragraph (2) letter a Jo Article 40 Paragraph (2) Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems with a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of IDR 100,000,000.

The evidence is that the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) has been released into its habitat through coordination with the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA). As for protected birds, they are currently still being cared for by the Planet Indonesia Foundation (YPI) awaiting release to their natural habitat in Papua and Maluku.

Eduward Hutapea said that with the complete investigation documents, the LVH suspect and evidence (Phase-2) would immediately be handed over to the Public Prosecutor of the West Kalimantan High Prosecutor's Office.

"Then go through the Pontianak District Attorney for further processing at the Pontianak District Court. We are still conducting in-depth investigations to uncover the related wildlife trade and the possibility of other wildlife trades", said Eduward.