Riau Islands Police Fails To Smuggle Chocolate Baning Tortoise Into Singapore

The Riau Islands BKSDA Team and the Riau Islands Police showed evidence of a Chocolate Baning tortoise to be smuggled from Batam to Singapore, at the Riau Islands Police Headquarters, Batam City, Monday (28/10/2024). (ANTARA/Laily Rahmawaty)

The Riau Islands Police thwarted the smuggling of protected endangered species, 10 Chocolate Baning Turtles (Manouria Emys) that were about to be sold illegally to Singapore.

Wadireskrimsus Polda Kepri AKPB Ade Kuncoro said this disclosure began with public information about the delivery of turtles from Riau to Batam using cargo.

"Upaya penyelidikan dari teman-teman Subdit IV Tipidter, di mana tanggal 9 Oktober sekitar jam 15.25 WIB bertempat di kantor JNT Batam Kota, telah diamankan 2 orang pelaku yang diduga akan melakukan pengangguhan satwa yang terlindung, yaitu Kura-kura Baning Chocolate," kata Ade dilansir ANTARA, Senin, 28 Oktober.

The two perpetrators, namely FP (38) as the owner of the animal and AW (29) as the animal carrier. Both of them want to sell the land animals to Malaysia and Singapore.

These turtles were purchased at a price of Rp. 1.5 million to Rp. 2.5 million, they are planned to be sent to Malaysia and Singapore can be sold at a price of three times, "he said.

The confession of the suspects is the first time this transaction has been made, but investigators are still investigating who the initial owner of the animal is and who is the customer.

However, he said, investigators were constrained because the modus operandi carried out by the perpetrators was similar to the mode of illicit drug trafficking involving networks and broken systems.

"So this is a network, they are moving like a drug network, a broken system. When we trace the upstream, who is the source, by tracking down their cellphone number, they are no longer active, as well as the order," he said.

According to him, in this incident the state was harmed because the Chocolate Baning Kura was a protected animal whose status in IUCN was endangered.

"The status is threatened with extinction, protected by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Number 106 of 2018 attachments to page 26 column number 718," he said.

The two suspects were charged with Law Number 32 of 2024 concerning Amendments to Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation and Natural Resources and Ecosystems, Article 40a paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 21 paragraph (2) letter a, everyone is prohibited from hunting, arresting, injuring, storing, maintaining, or transporting in a life sentence with a maximum imprisonment of 10 years, a minimum of 3 years, a large category fine of IDR 5 billion.

"In this case, the state is disadvantaged, because this Kura-Kurang Baning is the largest land tortoise in Asia, and our job here is to prevent extinction from protected animals," he said.

Head of Section II Batam of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSD) Tommy Steven Sinambela said the Chocolate Baning tortoises were endemic animals on the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The ten turtles were then entrusted to the BKSDA until the inkrah case was in court.

"The plan is to release these turtles in the conservation area of the Yellow Face Nature Tourism Park," said Tommy.