BKSDA And Police Seize 4,355 Rare Birds On The Lampung Bakter Toll Road

BKSDA and police confiscated 4,354 illegal birds on the Lampung Bakter Toll Road. (ANTARA/HO)

JAKARTA - The Bengkulu-Lampung Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and the Highway Police of the Traffic Directorate (PJR Ditlantas) of the Lampung Police confiscated 4,355 illegal birds on the Terbanggi-Bakauheni (Bakter) Toll Road KM 136 Lampung which will be smuggled.

"Officers stopped a silver Luxio minibus with the number B-1672-NOK. The vehicle brought 111 fruit baskets and 32 cardboard boxes which turned out to contain 4,354 birds of various types," said Head of the Bengkulu-Lampung BKSDA Center Hifzon Zawahiri in his statement in Bandarlampung, Sunday.

Hifzon Zawahiri revealed that his party received information from the NGO Flight regarding the plan to send thousands of birds that will pass through the Lampung toll road.

Police officers from the Lampung Regional Police then followed up on information from the NGO Flight along with the team to secure two residents of Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) Regency, South Sumatra.

During the operation, 1,699 cilek birds were found, 1,190 trucks, 640 stone gelautics, 240 pleci, and 105 perkut. In addition, there were also 185 cinens, 42 trigger onions, 66 conins, 25 sogons, and 11 cucohs.

Several other types of birds that are rarer, such as poksay mandin (5), pokray lambo (3), black eyebrow crust (5), kepodang (20), and gray pentet (118), were also arrested.

Head of the Bengkulu-Lampung BKSDA Center, Hifzon Zawahiri, explained that these birds were transported from Palembang to Natar, South Lampung.

It is suspected that these animals will be traded illegally in the bird market, considering that several species such as Polakray and Pleci have high selling values because of their melodious voice.

"Trafficking without a permit not only violates the law, but also has a negative impact on bird populations in their natural habitat," said Hifzon.

According to him, this operation is proof of the importance of synergy between law enforcement officials and conservation organizations in protecting Indonesia's natural wealth.

The confiscated birds, he continued, were immediately evacuated to a rehabilitation facility for health checks before being released into their natural habitat.

Meanwhile, the two perpetrators who were caught are now being investigated further in order to uncover a wider network of wildlife trade.

He explained that this operation highlighted strategic paths that are often used by perpetrators to transport illegal animals.

"Yes, with strong coordination between the authorities, the public is expected to be more aware of the importance of protecting Indonesian fauna from the threat of illegal trade, which not only harms the environment but also a wider ecosystem," he said.

Meanwhile, Flight Executive Director, Marison Guciano, suspects that Lampung is only a transit point for these birds before being sent to Java.

"The largest bird market is still in Java. Demand in Java is very high. Lampung only transits before being smuggled into Java through Bakauheni Port, South Lampung," he said.

Marison said that the massive smuggling of Sumatran wild birds to Java must get the attention of all parties.

"This cannot be taken lightly. The population of many types of Sumatran birds has dropped dramatically in the last 10 years. Some types have even disappeared from the wild. This is certainly very worrying," he said.

In the last 5 years, Flight noted that more than 200,000 Sumatran wild birds had been rescued from smuggling attempts into Java.