KLHK And Customs And Excise Seize 360 Kilograms Of Pangolin Scales In Banjarmasin

Director General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Rasio Ridho Sani when the case of smuggling pangolin scales was released at the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise in South Kalimantan, Thursday (25/5/2023). ANTARA/Firman

BANJARMASIN - The Law Enforcement Team of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry together with the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of South Kalimantan and the South Kalimantan BKSDA succeeded in uncovering the crime of protected animals by confiscating 360 kilograms of pangolins in Banjarmasin.

"One perpetrator with the initials AF (42) was named a suspect because as the owner and this case is still being developed so that there are additional suspects", said Director General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ratio Ridho Sani, in Banjarmasin, as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, May 25.

The arrest of the perpetrator began on Wednesday, May 17, the Regional Office Enforcement and Investigation Team of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of South Kalimantan conducted a patrol to stop and inspect the transport car advancing towards Trisakti Port.

Officers conducted an inspection and found eight boxes containing pangolin scales ready for distribution wrapped in sacks which were planned to be sent to buyers in East Java.

Based on these findings, Customs and Excise coordinated with the Balai GakkumKLHK Kalimantan Region for further legal proceedings against AF as the owner of 360 kilograms of evidence on pangolin scales.

The suspect was charged with multiple articles starting from Law Nommor 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and Their Ecosystems to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 of 2023 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulations in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation into Law in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp. 3,500,000,000.

Regarding the origin of pangolins, Rasio said it was still being investigated, including whether it was for export purposes suspected of targeting markets in the Asian region.

He said the smuggling of pangolin scales was a serious crime and became the attention of the international community so that the perpetrators must be punished to the maximum and dismantle all networks involved so that it has a deterrent and fair effect, including the entanglement of money laundering.

Rasio menerangkan penyelundupan sisik trenggilingmerupakan ancaman terhadap kelestarian hayati dan ekosistem serta menimbulkan kerugian ekonomi yang sangat besar.

Moreover, pangolins are animals that are protected by law and are included in the list of Apendiks species I CITES which are prohibited from being traded considering the important role in controlling the ecosystem is because pangolins eat termites, ants and other insects.

If one kilogram of dried pangolin is the same as four live pangolins, then the 360 kilogramsisic secured means the same as the 1,440 live pangolins that were killed.

In fact, the results of a study on the economic valuation of wildlife by the Directorate General of GakkumKLHK together with experts from IPB, each pangolin tail is worth IDR 50.6 million.

"For this case, 1,440 pangolins died, the economic losses from this crime reached Rp72.86 billion," he explained.

Director of Prevention and Security of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Sustyo Iriyono, said that until now Gakkum KLHK has carried out 1,946 environmental and forestry security operations in Indonesia. Of that number, 1,354 cases have been brought to court, both corporate and individual criminals.

"We continue to strengthen the use of technology, such as cyber patrols and intelligence centers for supervision of the trade in wild plants and animals," he said.